Crazy in Love
by Skarla
Summary: Draco is a part Veela, written with permission from Frizzy. HD slash. Hermione is actually the baddie! On permanent hiatus
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Harry Potter or its characters. The veela idea I did not get off Frizzy, but Minerva-Severus-Dumbledore who got it off Frizzy. I have read Magnetic Attraction, and I thought it was great!

I have Frizzy's permission to use the idea!

Thanks to Lunar Shadowsong, who is Beta reading this for me!

Crazy in Love

Harry was walking along the deserted Charms corridor, when a tall figure slammed into him. Harry and the person fell to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs. He had a confused impression of blonde hair and silver eyes, before Ron and Hermione pulled him up. They looked on as Blaise Zabini helped a scowling Draco Malfoy to his feet. There was a hush up and down the corridor as the two enemies stared at each other, and several whispered 'uh oh's could be heard as the crowd waited for the explosion.

It never came. Instead, Draco gave Harry a puzzled look, shook his head and turned away from the confused, unruly-haired teen who stared after him with puzzled green eyes.

"Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah?"

"What happened?"

"Hey, we'd better get to Charms, or we're gonna be late," Ron interrupted, looking at his watch.

The trio trooped into the Charms classroom, where Flitwick was just starting the lesson – summoning fairies for the Christmas Ball. He explained that the sixth years would have the task of producing fairies to decorate the rose garden. Harry switched off as soon as Flitwick started talking, his mind focusing on Malfoy's unusual behaviour. The blonde hadn't been himself for a week; he'd been spending a lot of time in the infirmary and was noticeably paler – which Harry had previously thought impossible. Hermione nudged him, breaking his train of thought.

"Harry! You've been staring into space for five minutes! Weren't you listening?"

"What? Oh, no. What are we doing?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, and Ron explained to Harry what they were doing. Harry firmly pushed all thoughts of Malfoy to the back of his mind, and got on with the lesson. To Hermione's astonishment, he managed to produce five glittering fairies by the end of the lesson, and earned Gryffindor ten house points for making the last one's wings shimmer from blue to green.

Draco wasn't at Dinner, and while Hermione was arguing with Ron over SPEW, Harry wondered what was wrong with him. About halfway through his Shepherds pie, Madame Pomfrey slipped into the hall and whispered something into Dumbledore's ear. Dumbledore smiled at her, and looked meaningfully at Harry, who abandoned his dinner, and went up to the staff table.

"I'll need you to come up to the infirmary, Mr Potter," Pomfrey told him worriedly.

"Ok. Why?"

"Nothing to worry about, Harry, just something we need to clear up," Dumbledore reassured him, blue eyes twinkling.

Harry followed the two older wizards out of the hall and up to the infirmary, which was empty, apart from the bed at the end, which was hidden by the large, pale blue screens Harry knew so well. Feeling uneasy, Harry waked slowly behind Dumbledore around the screen, and found a pair of desperate silver eyes locked on his own.

Draco's wrists were tied loosely to the bed, and his hair was loose, falling over his face. He looked trapped, like a wild animal, and he unconsciously leaned towards Harry.

"Mr Malfoy is ill," Dumbledore stated.

Harry looked at the pale boy, and scowled, making Draco retreat against the pillows, looking hurt.

"What's that-" he stopped himself from spitting the word 'ferret' with a conscious effort, "-got to do with me?"

"He cannot think clearly or rationally, instead his consciousness seems to retreat, leaving his brain functioning on its own, almost as if he is asleep, but sleepwalking. We are not completely sure why, but we think it could be because he is part Veela."

'Figures he's not completely human' Harry thought. "So?" he said out loud.

"You've been studying veela this term, haven't you?"

"Um, yes, every other week." Harry now had one lesson a week with Hagrid, and one the next with Grubbley-Plank. It was Dumbledore's way of letting Hagrid teach; yet letting the students learn as well.

"Then you'll know that we are one week into the mating season."

"Yes," Harry said cautiously. "But I still don't see what this has to do with me."

Dumbledore, as usual, did not answer his question, but continued to run through the facts, like an investigator putting the evidence together. Harry was ready to bet that his headmaster was a Sherlock Holmes fan. Probably another reason why Fudge thought he was completely barmy. 

"I believe you had a run-in with Draco earlier today."

"Yes."

"Well, I'm going to put this plainly."

'At last!' Harry thought impatiently. 'About time too!'

"When Draco touched you, he could think properly again. The touch was only for a moment, but its effect lasted for about ten minutes, long enough for him to find a teacher and tell them what he happened."

Madame Pomfrey now stepped forward. "Harry, will you please hold Draco's hand. We just want to see what happens."

Very reluctantly, Harry stepped to the bed and reached out to touch the back of Draco's pale hand, below the guard that held it to the bed rail. Draco twisted his hand desperately, grasping at Harry's wrist with strong, slender fingers. Harry resisted the urge to pull away, and looked at Dumbledore, who was looking at Draco.

"Draco?" the sliver-haired Headmaster asked gently.

"Yes?" Draco replied quietly.

"How do you feel now?"

"I can think. How did I get here? The last thing I remember is running into McGonagal after bumping into Har- Potter." 

"You slipped back," Madame Pomfrey told him gently.

"Oh." Draco looked down at where his had was gripping Harry's wrist, before looking up at the dark haired teen, who was currently staring at him with a pair of emerald green eyes narrowed in dislike. "Hi. Um, are you the reason I'm sane right now?" he asked.

"Yeah, I suppose. How long will this last? How long is the mating season? A day or two? A week?" Harry asked, sitting in the chair by Draco's bed.

"Three months."

"WHAT? Three MONTHS?? I have to hold your hand for three bloody months?!?"

"Sorry. I can't help it."

Harry scowled furiously and glared at their joined hands.

"Harry?" Draco asked hesitantly.

"What?"

"I'm really sorry. I can't help it. Please don't leave me." Draco's begged, his voice pleading, his eyes large and frightened.

Harry wasn't heartless, and he softened in the face of such desperation. "Ok. As much as I hate you, I won't let you go any crazier than you already are," he said grudgingly. Dumbledore beamed at him.

"Well, that's settled!" with a flick of his want, Draco's wrist restraints were unlocked, and the blonde teen clambered out of the bed, still clutching tight to Harry's hand. He smiled nervously at the raven haired Gryffindor, who nodded, his jaw clenched, his green eyes smouldering. 

"Lets go. Have you eaten?"

"No."

"Kitchens, then. Come on."

Hand in hand, but walking as far apart as possible without blocking the corridor, the unlikely duo walked towards the door.

"Boys," Dumbledore called after them, his blue eyes sparkling merrily. The pair turned to face him. "If you walk closer together, your robes will hide the fact that you are holding hands. But, you don't have to hold hands all the time, yet. You will soon, once the mating season reaches its peak. But for now, it should be enough to simply brush hands every few minutes, then you should be ok. Draco, remember to tell Harry if you need more contact, won't you?"

Harry looked extremely relieved at this piece of information, Draco, to Dumbledore's amusement, looked slightly disappointed. The two turned without a word and waked out of the infirmary together.

"They do make a cute couple," Dumbledore commented to Madame Pomfrey, who stared after him in astonishment as he slipped out of the infirmary.

~*~

The house elves were delighted to give Harry and Draco a tray piled with all sorts of food, from tomato soup to fruit salad, and drink, from pumpkin juice to butterbeer. Harry suggested they find an empty classroom to eat, as it was snowing outside, and Draco agreed. Harry was surprised that Draco was being so co-operative. He hadn't insulted Harry, complained or tried to pick a fight. They had talked a little over the food, and Draco had started to explain what was going on.

"This is such a funny thing for me to try to explain, but here goes. I'm part veela, and the mating season is from December to early March. Veela need someone during that time – a mate – to stabilise them. Veela's have a fragile state of mind – they are quick to anger or love. Without a mate at this time, they are reduced to nothing; their minds shut down and refuse to deal with the world," Draco had told him.

"But why me? Why did you choose me?"

"I don't know. You are caring, brave, protective, right. I didn't consciously choose you, but I am glad I did."

"How long is this for? Life?"

"Yes, I'm afraid. Now I've chosen you, I don't think I'll be able to be with anyone else. If you die, I will. We are connected, or rather, I am connected to you."

"Will you ever need anything more than just contact?"

"Yes. Not for a few years, but yes. I will never force you, however. I cannot hurt you."

"I'm not gay."

"Sorry, but I think you are now. I'll… attack anyone else you go with. I'll also attack anyone who hurts you."

"And if I die, you die?"

"Yes."

"You shouldn't've picked me. I'm the only student that has their life threatened regularly every single year."

"But you're still alive."

Sitting in the owlery, writing to Remus, Harry looked back over the conversation. It had been surprising, and he had found out a lot about what he had been throw into. As long as Draco carried on acting as civilly as he had been, Harry thought he could adjust and accept what Draco had told him. He just didn't want to be in Draco's shoes when Ron found out though. Grinning slightly at the thought of his red haired friend, Harry re-read what he had written.

Dear Remus,

How are you? Full moon was last week, hope it went ok. I've found out something odd. Draco Malfoy is a part veela. You probably know all the facts about veela, so I won't wait parchment telling you what you already know. Apparently I am the only person who can keep him sane. Advice would be nice!!

Merry Christmas

Harry

Hedwig fluttered softly down and landed by Harry's knee. She stuck her leg out, and allowed him to tie the letter on. Once it was secure, he stood up and carried the large white bird on his wrist to the window.

"It's for Remus, ok? Be careful. Make sure he gets it, and you get back in one piece."

Hedwig nibbled gently on his ear and hooted softly before talking to the air and soaring off over the grounds like a white ghost. He watched her go with a sigh, before he heard a weak cry from the other side of the door.

"Harry…"

Harry rushed to the door, flung it open and reached down. Draco was huddled against the wall, shivering. He was curled into a ball and rocking back and forth, muttering.

"I'm ok, he's next door, I'mokI'mokI'mok… Harry's next door, Harry…"

Harry reached for the blond's hand, and Draco gripped it tightly. After a few seconds he stopped shivering, and looked up at Harry gratefully.

"Mind over matter. Guess it doesn't work though," he smiled weakly.

"Sorry I took so long."

"That's ok. I have a theory. Want to hear it?"

"Ok."

"The more contact I have before you leave, the longer I'll be able to hold out."

"So… If I hold your hand for five minutes, I'll be able to leave you for fifteen?"

"Yes."

"We'll try that tomorrow. Come on, hold my hand up to Dumbledore's office; you're still shaky. I shouldn't've left you for so long."

"Don't beat yourself up over it," Draco reassured him as they walked towards the office, unconsciously talking Dumbledore's advice, and walking close together so that the contact was unnoticeable.

~*~

After the had got in – Aniseed Balls, who would've thought… - Harry refused the offer of a Murray mint and plainly stated what they have come to ask.

"Where are we going to sleep? The rest of Gryffindor may not kill Draco, but it might come close, and the Slytherin's would definitely kill me."

"Don't worry. We have rooms for you, one of the lesser used towers in the south wing. Views of the Quidditch pitch, lake and forest. You can see it from your dorm window you know, Harry."

"Oh, the small, dark one at the corner?"

"Yes. Lovely view."

"Sir? How do we get there?" Harry asked, fighting down impatience. Draco noticed his frustration, and squeezed his hand comfortingly.

Dumbledore told them the way, and they set off, towards what was soon to be their new home.

"Just why it had to be behind the picture of Sir Cadogan I don't know!" Harry muttered as they exited the office. Draco, not knowing what they were in for, just smiled warily.

Ok… please leave a review. Ideas would be great! Would you like Ron to blow up? Or should Harry and Draco have a fight? Harry's been quite accepting so far, and maybe it should stay that way, because even if he hates Draco, this Draco is being nice, and I don't think he would wish insanity on anyone -–apart from Voldie! Maybe they should have a totally pointless argument, like who gets the pink toothbrush, or which side of the bed they should sleep on? Tell me what you think!!!


	2. Chapter 2

She-Who-Is-Not-To-Be-Psyc – I see where you're coming from, and I know the Ron = Volcano thing is overused, but it's really in with his character in the books. I think I might have Dean and Seamus or somebody taking it badly this time. Please keep reading!

Darian – We really don't know much about Harry's feelings before, so you never know! *g* Thanks for the tip about the Romance/Supernatural, I wasn't sure what to put for the second one, so I just left it blank. I hope you like the bit about the toothbrush! I haven't done all of it; it was mainly the lovely Luna, my glorious Beta. 

I don't own it, wish I did, JK is the Goddess, and I hope she know how lucky she is!

Somebody mentioned that Harry took it too easy last chapter, but it hadn't really sunk in then. Now he's seen the room, he has a bigger idea of what he's in for, and he isn't happy!

The main room was done in neutral tones, with plain wooden floorboards covered in brightly patterned rugs and coffee coloured sofas scattered with cream cushions surrounding a low table. The walls were also cream, and there were several cabernets hung there, some filled with pictures, some with small silver ornaments, usually dragons or other fantasy creatures. Draco moved over to them, and ran his fingers over the head of a rearing serpent, delicate fingers tracing the engraved patterns down the back.

"I wonder who took these from my room?" he muttered.

"I don't know, and I don't bloody care," Harry said bluntly.

Draco's silver eyes were immediately filled with hurt, which annoyed Harry even more. Everything about the blond, from the tousled hair that skimmed his shoulders to the black laces in his white trainers annoyed him. Being in the room had made it all sink in. Draco Malfoy, his arch nemesis, wanted, no, needed, him to be near him for the next three months, and if he didn't co-operate, well, Malfoy's sanity would be yet another thing on his conscience.

"I believe that this isn't some sick joke you're playing – if Dumbledore says it's true, I believe him – but that doesn't mean I have to like it," Harry said harshly, ignoring the pained look the blond sent him, and the resulting jab of conscience. He stormed upstairs, and into the bathroom, glaring at the pale blue fittings and white fluffy towels. There was a pot plant on the windowsill, and a dark blue rug on the floor. Draco was still downstairs, so Harry decided to take the opportunity to check out the bedroom. He froze in horror, and groaned so loudly that Draco, who was already on edge from the effort of trying to let Harry have some time alone, came running up the stairs to see what was wrong.

After touching the back of Harry's hand for a few seconds, he gazed round the room, and immediately saw what was shocking his chosen mate so much. Well, he wasn't totally sure, but he would bet money that it had something to do with the large, satin covered, king-size bed that sat smugly in the centre of the room. The covers were black, and the hangings sliver. Of the room itself, Draco saw that the carpet was black, the walls white, and the lights and shelves – filled with his and Harry's books – were also sliver. There were two black leather armchairs in one corner, one on either side of a brand new chess set, and one wall was entirely wardrobes, with mirrored doors and sliver handles.

"Um, Harry? What's wrong?" Draco asked quietly.

"Nothing. It's just…" Harry sighed and ran a careless hand through his hair, looking around the room again before staring despondently at the floor. "I didn't think we'd be sharing a bed. Silly of me, really. It's no big deal."

"If you really don't like it, we can ask Dumbledore to change it," Draco told him.

"No, you'll go mad overnight. Sorry about earlier, I'll try to be more understanding," Harry said quietly, his conscience kicking in. Even if he was seething inside, it wasn't Draco's fault. It was probably some master plan of Voldemort's to make him go crazy before he had to face him.

"It's ok, I'd probably murder me if I was you. What time is it?"

"Nearly half past nine. And you would definitely murder me, Malfoy. Do you have any homework you have to do?"

"No."

Harry was about to say something else, when there was a call from downstairs, and the pair went down to see who it was.

Dumbledore sat on the middle sofa, and smiled jovially at the pair as they walked close together down the stairs, holding hands. The stood awkwardly in front of him, and he gestured for them to sit.

"Now, I hope you like your new home?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir," Draco said. Harry merely nodded.

"Now, about lessons. Draco, you will be moved into Harry's classes, as you have had forewarning of this, and you have had more time to prepare yourself. But neither of you have to go to lessons tomorrow, as it is Friday, and you have the weekend off anyway. Hogsmead trip, you know," Harry gritted his teeth, waiting for Dumbledore to finish rambling on and go. Draco squeezed his hand sympathetically. "So you have to whole weekend to get to know each other and enjoy yourselves. Mr Malfoy, I have owled your family, and your mother is insisting that she comes down for a visit next week. This will probably take place on Saturday. Now, I will leave you all to get ready for bed. Lights out is in half and hour. Goodnight."

With that said he left the room in a puff of pink sparkly smoke.

Harry jumped up and began to dance around the room. "Yes! I miss double potions!" he yelled happily. Draco, on the other hand, dropped his head onto his knees and groaned. "What's wrong?" Harry asked, sitting back down and taking the teen's hand anxiously.

"My mother is visiting. She'll be coming to check you out."

"Surely she isn't that bad?"

"Put it this way – without her, my father is a nice, caring person."

"Oh dear."

"Yes. Be prepared for questions."

"What sort of questions?"

"Have you been with anyone before, what do you want to do when you're older, who are your friends, how do you feel about me, that sort of thing."

"Oh, ok. I think I can cope with that."

"Remember that you get a sharp poke with her wand if she doesn't like your answers."

"Oh god. What's your father like?"

"Um… well, he's not really evil, just has to act like it. You see; mum wants power. 'The Malfoy's are right in You-Know-Who's inner circle' is right in one respect; mum is. She is really evil. She doesn't really love dad, and he doesn't love her. I think he loved Lily, your mum. She… well, she's a lesbian, I think. She doesn't sleep in the same room as dad, never has, as far as I can tell. She did want to marry him, I suspect to get as far away as possible from her cousin."

"Sirius."

"Yes. I'll tell you more tomorrow. Right now, we should go to bed."

"Yeah, come on."

The couple ran up the stairs, and Harry went into the bathroom to change into his night-clothes – black boxers and a red T-shirt. He grabbed his toothbrush, and brushed his teeth hurriedly, before going back into the bedroom to put his clothes into the dirty laundry basket for the house elves to wash.

While he was sorting out his wardrobe, Draco went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, and was horrified to find that the remaining toothbrush was bright pink. He yelled to Harry, and stormed out of the bathroom.

"Harry! How dare you leave me the girlie toothbrush?!"

"Hey, Mal-"

"No, I will not stand for this! Just because my hair is longer, and I'm the veela, does NOT mean I'm going to use a pink toothbrush!"

"Malfoy!"

"What?" Draco asked, breathing hard, the offending toothbrush clutched in his hand.

"You can change the colour, remember? We're wizards?"

Pacified, the blond change the colour to black and went back to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Once he had finished, he came out then they both met in the middle of the bedroom, staring.

Harry couldn't help it – Draco was dressed in boxers and a loose black T-shirt, and looked so very beautiful. He was looking at Harry with a hungry expression, which made the dark haired teen retreat a little. The look in the blond's sliver-blue eyes scared him.

"Um… well, we'd better get to sleep then," Harry said uncomfortably. The information about Narcissa had cooled his anger towards Draco, but he still didn't want the blond looking at him like he was one of Florean Fortescue's choco-nut sundaes. Draco seemed to snap back, regaining control. He flushed slightly and nodded.

They both moved to the same side of the bed, and stared at each other challengingly.

"I'm sleeping on this side," Draco said firmly.

"I don't think so, I always sleep on this side of the bed."

"Well, so do I, and I am sleeping on this side."

"No, you aren't. I am."

"I am."

"I am!"

"I am!"

"I am!" 

"I am!"

"I am!" 

"I am!"

"This is stupid!" Harry said angrily.

"I know," Draco agreed.

"There is only one way to settle this, the way all dorm room wars are settled."

"A pillow fight?"

"A pillow fight."

Grabbing the pillows off the bed, they began to hit each other, hard. Harry buffeted Draco's hair totally out of place, before having the breath knocked out of him by Draco's solid whack to his stomach. With a feral growl he dived at the blond, pinning his to the floor and rolling as he was hit repeatedly on the head. But he gave as good as he got, and soon he was straddling Draco's waist, ready to smack his head into next week.

"Do you yeald?" He asked, panting heavily.

"Never" Draco said, smirking. But his attention was elsewhere, and Harry suddenly realised why. He knew the affect he had on the blond, and decided it was time for a little teasing.

Leaning forward, he let his breath ghost over Draco's cheek, making the pale-skinned teen shiver and close his eyes. Harry whispered "do you yeald?" softly into the Slytherin's ear, and a quiet moan escaped the soft lips. 

"N- no," he whimpered, writhing a little.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, moving so that his lips almost but not quite touched Draco's. He was grinning, the way Draco was moving under him clearly showed his discomfort. Draco moaned again, straining up to try to kiss the soft lips that tormented him, but Harry' hands on his shoulders prevented that.

"Ok!" Draco groaned, unable to take it anymore. "You can sleep on this side!"

"Good," Harry grinned, standing up and offering the flushed blond his hand. Once Draco was standing, he smiled at him, and climbed into bed. Draco got in the other side, and they settled down, their hands meeting in the middle, but as much distance as possible between them. Tired out from the eventful and emotionally raining day, they fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Layce74 -= Thanks! Glad you like it.

Jade Maxwell – woah, long review. And you're right; the 'and they woke up wound around each other' thing is really overused. Harry is really emotional at the moment, that was intentional. I mean, suddenly having you're worst enemy thrust on you for life would make you angry and confused, and Harry is such a nice guy that he feels all sorry for Draco so he would try to be nice, but fail occasionally. I think I'll keep on with the pointless fights over nothing to let them blow off steam – I love them too much to cause them serious harm this early in the story. Thanks for the review! Have a cookie!

Darian – Yeah, I'm thinking of reverting to Jen Red Robe, my AIM thingy. Although I haven't been on AIM for months, ever since my laptop crashed. Hey, on the laptop front, I am going to America on the 15th, and pestering my Dad till its fixed, so I should be back soon! YAY! You should get more on this fic as soon as the heatwave is over. I cannot think in this heat!!!

Jliles – Thank you! I'll get updating, but I'm off on holiday to America tomorrow (Yay! Yippee! Yahoo!). By the time you read thins, I'll probably be back! But I'll see what I can do at my Dad's house. Hopefully I'll be able to write while I'm out there, but they might keep me too busy.

Layce74 – Thanks for the review! Glad you like it!

M – don't you mean you love it so much, not muck? Hehe! I'm really glad you like it, and so many pleases aren't really necessary, but they are real welcome! *sighs happily* I love getting reviews! It makes me want to write more! 

Hannah Abby – Argh! Not the goldfish!!! Yeah, it's a great way of getting your way, isn't it? I'll update asap. I think I said in the latest chapter of BttP when I should be updating, but by the time you read this, it will be too late, hehe! Oh well… glad you like it, but please hold the goldfish!!!!

Makalani Astral – Thanks for the review!

Krya2 – Soz, did I spell Silver wrong? Where? And I have had plenty of time to write, but I have also been spending that time on holiday without a PC, so I haven't had a lot of time, really! Thankyou for the review! It was really evil of Harry, wasn't it?

I've been on holiday, sorry about the wait! Matchbox 20 rock! If you like Unwell, check out Blast from the Past by Wintermoon. The song really fits the story, plus it is just a really cool story! Ooh, I'd better warn you; it is slash, Harry/Draco and a bit of Lucius/Snape, but only in memory.

Draco lay quietly, hand clasping Harry's tightly. It was reassuring, as he didn't dare to look at the other boy. He had tried earlier; the moonlight from the window lay across the pillow, catching sliver hi-lights in Harry's hair, and making his skin milky white. He had been overcome with the desire to kiss the full, soft lips, and had turned away quickly. Harry would never forgive him if he took advantage of him during the night. As Draco lay there, he was conscious of every move Harry made, every breath, every slight turn. He was grateful to find that Harry didn't snore.

Draco couldn't sleep. He was as tight as a drawn bowstring, and quivering with tension. Harry was breathing softly beside him, obviously asleep. Draco snuggled down in the soft silk covers, waiting for dawn.

He managed to drop off as the birds began to sing outside the window, but woke a few hours later when Harry did. Harry smiled sleepily at the rumpled blond, and sat up. Grabbing a towel, he headed for the bathroom.

"I'm having a shower. I can trust you not to come in, can't I? I don't know if there's a lock on the door."

"I won't come in. Shall I get the house elf to get us breakfast?"

"Yeah. I expect Dobby will be looking after us."

"Dobby… he was my favourite house elf. I hated it when you freed him."

"Sorry. But he does prefer it here."

"Yes, but none of the other house elves made hot chocolate that well!"

"Anyway, I'm having a shower, you're ordering breakfast. I'll have muffins, and try out this hot chocolate you seem to like so well."

"Ok. See you soon."

~*~

Harry relaxed under the stream of hot water. Having a shower was always a way of relaxing for him. Other people preferred baths, but he had always been a shower person. The Dursley's always complained if he had a bath, they insisted that he used up all the hot water, but the shower at no. 4 had its own heater, and so they couldn't complain. He always found that he could think better under a waterfall of hot, steamy water.

He used this shower as a time to think. The thing with Draco had happened so fast; he still wasn't sure how he felt over the whole matter. As he washed his hair, he concluded that he wasn't happy, but he thought that they could make it work. It could be worse, he supposed, it could have been Crabbe or Goyle. Malfoy wasn't ugly, and so far he had seemed a completely different person. Harry wondered why he hung around with Crabbe and Goyle so much. Maybe it had something to do with his father. Or more likely his mother, thinking back to their conversation the night before.

~*~

Once Harry had finished his shower, he rubbed the towel over his jet-black hair before wrapping it round his slim waist. Before he went to the main room, where he suspected Draco was and food soon would be, he headed into the bedroom to dress. Pulling a pair of black jeans over his grey boxers and a red t-shirt over his head, he headed over to the mirror to try to tame his hair slightly with his hairbrush.

He gave up the battle – he had lost before he had started anyway – as soon as he smelt food. A sudden pang of conscience made him leap down the stairs three at a time: he had left Draco for about 20 minutes; would the pale blond be ok?

He landed on the carpet to find that Draco looked a little paler than usual, and a little worried, but otherwise fine. Harry, who had been scared that he would find the blond curled up in a corner muttering again, was surprised to find how relieved he was, and, in retrospect, how worried he had been. Draco stood up as he came in, and walked over to take Harry's offered hand.

"I was worried," Harry told him.

"So was I, at first, but I think the night of contact made it easier. That, and the noise of the shower. You don't sing?"

"Sing?"

"Sing, in the shower."

"Oh," Harry blushed slightly. "I do sometimes. Depends if I'm in the mood. Usually I do it quietly though."

"Me too, if I'm in the mood. What sort of music do you like?" Draco asked, sitting down, and handing Harry a mug of hot chocolate.

(I've decided to use songs and bands that are around now, as I'm only a teenager, and this would have been in the mid-90's, and I haven't a clue what sort of thing they would've listened to. Sorry, but this is stuff I know, and I like it all, sad but true. ^_~)

"Um… all sorts. Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Blink 182, Linkin Park, Puddle of Mud is ok, stuff like that. What do you like?" Harry asked, sipping his hot chocolate. "This is really good!"

"Told you it was. I like Queen, All American Rejects, Matchbox 20, SheDaisy, Lake of Tears and Blind Guardian."

"The only one of those I know is Queen. They're ok."

"We'll have to listen to them. Have you heard Time after Time? It's by Matchbox 20."

"Um… Sing a bit?"

"If you're lost, you can look, and you will find me, time after time. And If you fall I will catch you, I'll be waiting, time after time."

"Oh yeah! I know that one. Know any other songs that you like that I might know?"

"Well, they did Unwell. Um…. I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell, I know, right now you can't tell, but stay a while and maybe then you'll see, a different side of me. I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired, I know, right now you don't care, but soon enough you're gonna think of me, and how I used to be… me."

"No, I don't know that one. Sing some more," Harry asked, biting into a muffin.

"Why?"

"You have a nice singing voice."

"Ok. Um… Swing swing swing from the tangles of… my heart's been crushed by a former love, can. You. Help. Me. Find. A. Way to carry on again… That's Swing Swing, by The All American Rejects."

"Nice. I'll have to listen to some of these. Know any more?"

"Hundreds. Hear me you Lords and Lady preachers, I descend upon your earth from the sky, I command you're very souls you unbelievers, So give me what is mine! The Seven Seas of Rhye!"

"Queen's first single," Harry said through a mouthful of muffin. He swallowed. "Seven Seas of Rhye."

"Yes. Try this one… Shadows…. Shadows and Fever. No-one hears him cry, so he turns to evil, only now, only know does he know... Pains… Always those pains, one he does it once he will do it again, only know, only know does she know, silver doom unseen moon will show, ooo-oooo-ooooh!"

"I don't know it."

"It's Raistlin and the Rose, by Lake of Tears. About a character called Raistlin Magere and his lover, Crysania. Crysania comes into it later… Love… Love makes her blind. Soon she follows him through the doors of time…"

"Cool. There are songs about books?"

"Yeah. Have you read Lord of the Rings?"

"Yes, Dudley had it in his second bedroom, along with the rest of his untouched books. I read it first when I was 11, the summer when Dobby stopped my letters."

"Huh?"

"He was trying to save my life, I'll tell you about it sometime. Anyway, what about it?"

Instead of answering, Draco started to sing again. "There are songs of the ring, which make me feel so down… I can't remember a bit… Three for the kings of the elves high in line, nine to the mortals, who cry. I'll keep the ring for sorrow, I'll keep the ring 'till I die…"

"Wow, I had no idea that there were songs about stuff like that. I've read Dragonlance too, the books about Raistlin."

"Really? There's another song about that, um… I'm not insane, that's how it seems though, spiteful, cruel, and wise beyond his age, my body fails, by soul will rise, the earth lies demoralised, disease and melody (huh? What does he actually say there? Melody doesn't fit! Its sounds like barony, but that makes no sense!), and I see death through golden eyes!" 

"Nice."

"The Soulforged, by Blind Guardian. Hey, why don't you sing? I haven't heard anything that you like yet."

"Ok. The faster we're falling, we're stopping and stalling, and running in circles again. Just as things were looking up they said it wasn't good enough, but still we're trying one more time. Maybe we're just trying too hard, when really it's closer than it is too far… that's In Too Deep, by Sum 41."

"You can sing really well! Sing some more!" Draco exclaimed, sipping his hot chocolate and staring intensely at the Gryffindor.

"All the, Small thing, true care, truth brings, I'll take one lift, you're right, best trip. Always, I know, you'll be at my show. Say it ain't so, I will not go, turn the lights off, carry me home. Blink 182, All the Small Things."

"I like that, sing one of their other songs, please."

"I never thought, I'd die alone, I laugh the loudest, who'd have know? I traced the cord back to the wall, no wonder it was never plugged in at all. Blink 182, Adam's song."

"That's really nice, sing some more of it."

"I took my time, I hurried up, the choice was mine I didn't think enough, I'm too depressed to go on, you'll be sorry when I'm gone. I never conquered, rarely came, 16 just held such better days."

"Sad. Know any others? You said you liked Good Charlotte?"

"Yeah. Um… Bloody Valentine is my favourite. Want to hear it?"

"Yes," Draco nodded, shoving the breakfast tray to the other side of the table and resting his heels on the edge of the table frame. Harry tucked his legs under him, and began to sing softly.

"Oh my love, please don't cry, I'll wash my bloody hands, and we'll start a new life… I ripped out his throat, and called you on the telephone, to, take off, my disguise, just in time to hear you cry as you, you mourn the tears of you're bloody valentine, but now he died, you mourned the tears of you're bloody valentine, one last time… Singing oh my love, please don't cry, I'll wash my bloody hands and we'll start a new life…" seeing Draco's nod to go on, he started the second verse. "There were, police cars and flashing lights; the rain came down so hard that night and the, headlines read, a lover dies. No telltale heart was left to find as you, you mourn the tears of you're bloody valentine, but now he died. You mourned the tears of you're bloody valentine, one last time."

As Harry finished singing, Dobby came in for the breakfast tray.

"Mr Harry Potter, Sir, Mr Weezly and Miss Granger is looking for you!"

"Hermione and Ron! I'd forgotten all about them! They must be so worried!"

"Shall Dobby tell Mr Weezly and Miss Granger where Mr Harry Potter is?"

"Um... If Draco doesn't mind?"

"Weasel might as well kill me now, rather than later."

"I thought having a civil conversation with you about music was a bit too odd."

"No, I'm sorry, but he will call me ferret, you know he will. At least let me have some sort of defence."

"What do you mean, let you?"

"If you forbid me, straight out, to do something, I can't do it."

"Oh. As long as you call Hermione either Hermione or Granger, and never call her a mudblood ever again, you can call Ron weasel, for now."

"Thanks. Dobby, show them the way, don't tell them the password, wait for us to let them in."

"Yes, Mr Harry Potter and Mr Draco. Dobby will be back soon."

He disappeared, and Harry and Draco shared a glance.

"So, this is it. Who do you think will take it worse?" Draco asked his future mate.

"Hermione."

"Really? I'd put my money on Ron."

"Hermione. Ron will explode for a few minutes, then calm down. He'll accept it. Hermione doesn't accept that house elves like things the way that they are, or that she is in love with Ron – a fact that he moans about constantly – so she will probably never accept this." Harry concluded with a mournful sigh.

"Never mind," Draco said consolingly, hugging him. "It'll be ok."

"I hope so," Harry murmured, staring with sorrowful emerald green eyes at the portrait hole.


	4. Chapter 4

Krya2 – oops! Sorry. I'm a bit dyslexic when it comes to spelling, so I rely on spellcheck a lot, and I guess I missed that, as did my beta reader. As for Ron and Mione, well, we'll have to see. I think it has been a bit too happy so far… hehe! Maybe I'll have to let Dray get angry at them! Thanks for the review.

Fliberdjibit – I was a bit stuck for ideas on this chapter. I wanted them to have a conversation, and music is one of the things I talk about most with my mates. As for Dray knowing stuff about Muggle music, well, I don't think he'd have done what his parents wanted all the time! I can see Dray hating both of them, although Narcissa is the big baddie in this fic. Does that make sense? Sorry that is was hard to read, I would've done it one line at a time, but ff.net puts spaces between my paragraphs, and it would've looked stupid. I hope it will be less boring in future chapters!

Makalani Astral – I would've liked to make up my own, but I had too much school stuff due in, and it was easier to just type in stuff I know by heart. I know it is unlikely, but this is my AU fic, and I'm revelling in the fact that I can make them do what I like. Well, actually, I have a killer headache, and I'm not revelling in anything, but you know what I mean.

schmidie-lee83 – I'm writing, I'm writing! But I have loads of school work, sorry! I'm trying as much as I can, but what with my mum nagging me to tidy my room, do housework etc and my teachers bugging me with tons of h/w I don't have a lot of free time!

Don't own it; wish I did. JKR is the goddess. Beta'd by Luna Shadowsong. She did the bit in the hall, as I had writers block over it, and simply couldn't decided how to do it.

A short while later, Harry opened the door to let Dobby leading a very confused Ron and Hermione into the lounge. The house elf then bowed deeply and disappeared with the breakfast tray.

"Hey, you can sit down," Harry said, as the pair stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, gaping. "And Ron, close your mouth. You look like a goldfish."

Ron closed his mouth, and collapsed in the nearest armchair, running his hand over his fiery red hair and staring at the pair sitting holding hands on the sofa. Hermione also sat down, and regarded the two intently. "What's going on?" she asked, her quiet tone making Harry wince, and Draco look at him in astonishment. He thought hard at Draco, hoping that he would get the message somehow. _She's at her most dangerous when she's calm. This doesn't look good._ Draco's eyes widened in astonishment, and he nodded. Harry could've sworn he head the silver-eyed boy say; _all right. I'll tread carefully, _even though his lips hadn't moved. Musing over this telepathy trick, Harry turned to his – their – uncomfortable guests.

"Um… ok. There's no easy way to do this. Draco is part veela. Um… I'm his future mate. He goes crazy if I'm not around, which Dumbledore doesn't think is good, and he'd a lot better than he used to be."

"How do you know that he's really different and this isn't some sort of plot?" Hermione asked, again calmly.

"Going cuckoo will change a person," Draco said dryly. "Look, I never really had a grudge against you, well, apart from beating me in every lesson. I couldn't care less if you're muggle born or not. If I didn't act like I hate you, it wouldn't have been good for me, and I've already got enough scars. I'm not evil; I'm just a very good actor. I apologise for every name I've ever called you, especially the one that Harry has forbidden me to say. Weasley, I'm sorry for calling you names, and insulting your family. I guess I'm jealous; you're all so close and seem so happy together. My parents might as well be marble statues. I apologise for every name I've ever called your mother. She actually seems like a really good mum, and I wish mine were more like her. Sadly, hell will freeze over before that happens. Um… I think that's all I can say, I hope you'll forgive me, or at least don't kill me."

"Oh… ok, ferret. I'll forgive you," Ron said slowly. It seemed that the stuff about Draco's parents had really sunken in. "I guess I'd be jealous of my mum too, a bit, if I was you. She is a really good cook and stuff. Motherly. Um… handshake?"

Ron and Draco stood up and solemnly shook hands over the coffee table. Harry grinned, but the smile soon faded as he looked at Hermione. Her face was expressionless. Without a word, she stood up and left.

"Shit."

"What is it?" Draco asked immediately, concerned.

"I know. Hermione was quiet and left. She's never going to accept this, you know, Ferret. I'd watch your back. Hermione knows loads of hexes, almost as many as Harry," Ron said, looking uneasy. 

"Bugger. Guess I'd better look out, right? Hey, anyone feel like chess?"

Ron's face immediately lit up, and he followed Draco over to the chess set in the corner of the room. Harry grinned at them, and started to do his transfiguration essay. It wasn't due in until Wednesday, but he had a feeling that he'd better get it done now. Draco was probably going to be quite distracting in lessons, or at least, everyone else's reactions to the Slytherin would be distracting, and he wanted to stay in McGonagal's good books. He grinned, thinking of how pleased Hermione would be if she knew he was doing his essay already, but thinking about his brown haired friend was painful at the moment. If only she'd- a call from Ron stopped his musing, and he turned his head to look at the two chess players.

"Harry, mate, better get over here. Malfoy's gone all pale…" Ron said, looking worried. Harry dashed over the room and knelt by his chair, taking both of Draco's hands into his own. _It's ok, you'll be alright. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere._ He thought hard, staring into Draco's silver eyes. Some of the colour returned to the pale cheeks, and Draco's breathing slowed down slightly. He managed a shaky smile, still clinging to Harry's hands tightly.

"I'm ok now," the blonde said quietly.

"No you're not," Harry contradicted. "You're way too pale. You should've said something earlier, you idiot. You'll make yourself really sick again."

"Um… I hope I'm not interrupting, but what the hell is going on? I mean, this is just a little too weird. I'm still not totally ok with it, you know. I mean, you're enemies and you're holding hands for chrissakes!" Ron interjected, his voice growing shriller and louder as he spoke.

"Ron, calm down!" Harry said smoothly. "Like I said, Draco is a part-veela, and without his mate near, he looses his mind. During the breeding season, it's worse, and the mate has to be in almost constant contact, skin to skin is better, I think. I'm Draco's mate, I didn't want to be, and I really didn't like it at first, but this Draco is nothing like the one we hate. I'm starting to like him, and I feel responsible for him."

"This will all change after February," Draco took over. "Then I'll be the one constantly defending Harry. I'll stop at nothing to protect him, but during the breeding season, I'm the vulnerable one. Not that Harry's vulnerable, but veela are naturally protective."

"So there you have it, Ron. We're a team now. I hope you can cope with this. I'm still you're friend, and hopefully I'll still be Hermione's too. But Draco's now the fourth member of the group, and I don't think there's anything we can do about it. No offence, Draco."

"None taken. You're not the first person I'd have chosen, I mean, if it had to be a guy, I'd prefer Blaise, although that might mess up our friendship. Still, I'd rather you that Pansy, Vince or Greg. You're not that bad looking, you're a good Quidditch player etc etc. I think I'm going to be happy with you. Not that we have a choice."

Ron nodded slowly, thinking hard. "This is still really new, and weird, but I think I'll be able to cope. You're a better chess player than Harry, and you haven't insulted me too badly, and you seem an ok person now. You don't have to worry about my friendship, Harry, it's Hermione that you should be anxting over."

"Thanks, Ron."

"Anytime. Look, I'd better go see if Hermione wants to talk yet. She's had a while to get over the initial shock. She might start trying to break you two up, just like she started to try to free the house elves, so watch your backs!" With a grin for the pair of them he climbed out of the portrait hole and headed off down the corridor.

"Well, that went as well as I could've hoped," Harry said, smiling at Draco.

"Weasley's quite nice, really. I was surprised, I thought he'd explode, and Granger would be ok with it."

"You don't know Hermione. When there's something the she doesn't like, she will try to change it so that it fits in with her views, and she won't listen to reason. Look at the house elves."

"What?"

Harry explained SPEW to Draco, still clutching the part-Veela's hands tightly. As he talked, Draco began to calm down, and Harry mused on this as he explained.

~Its amazing how a simple touch from me can calm him. I've never had anyone depend on me and care for me like this before. He's so proud, yet I'm beginning to see that I will be able to wrap him around my little finger. He's so strong on the outside, an icicle, but inside he's warm and vulnerable. His mother must be horrible. I'd like to know about his childhood, if he'd tell me. It might be too painful though. Still, time will tell. I can't believe that I will be spending the rest of my life with Draco Malfoy, of all people. Still, I guess I'll get used to it. I care for him so much already…~

"Hey, what was with that Telepathy trick we did?" Harry asked, after he had finished making Draco giggle over SPEW. The blond looked surprisingly cute when he giggled; he wrinkled his nose, and hid his mouth with his hand, his blond hair falling into his silver eyes.

"I don't know. I just heard you speak, without moving your lips, and I figured that it was a thought, so I thought back at you. It's one of the things about Veela. I didn't realise how far along we were. I suppose it's because I was mad for most of the start of the mating season, or maybe because you're such a powerful wizard."

"Me? Powerful?"

"Yes, didn't you know? You're one of the most powerful in your year, especially in DADA. You beat Granger, remember? That was the only year you both sat the exam, when the exam was set by a proper teacher."

"I thought you didn't like Professor Lupin?"

"I did, but I couldn't show it. I knew he was a werewolf, my parent's told me. Snape told them. I respected him. He was a good teacher, and I was amazed at all he went through, but he's still together. His best friends either dying or betraying him, not being able to have a proper job, all the heartache when Black went to Azkaban and so on. He was a good guy, and I wish I could get to know him better. He probably doesn't want to know me, though."

"Why ever not? I'm sure he'd love to get to know you."

"I'm a Malfoy."

"Do you really think Remus is that prejudiced? He's a werewolf. And more than ready to forgive people for what they cannot help."

"It's lunchtime, shouldn't we go to the hall?"

"Yeah, come on."

Still hand in hand, and surprisingly comfortable with the arrangement, they clambered out of the portrait hole and into the corridor. Staying close together, they made their way down the hallways and staircases down to the great hall.

Heads turned as they entered and whispers immediately broke out. "That's him", "did you hear" and "I never would have thought it". Only the Gryffindor table remained silent, loyal to Harry and in no way judgemental. Draco gave Harry a longing look before sitting down at the Slytherin table next to Blaise.

Harry sat down, he worried about the blonde's health but promptly put it out of his mind. Draco would be fine, he assured himself. Just fine. However, as dinner progressed he did not notice how pale Draco had become; being away from his mate was taking its toll.

Harry Soon launched into an animated conversation with Seamus about Quidditch not noticing the blonde's jealous look. Draco's eyes narrowed and certain protectiveness welled up inside him, but he beat it down. They were Harry's friends not his enemies. He was so concentrated on Harry that he did not hear the taunts of his fellow housemates until one sixth year shouted in his ear. Tears rimmed his eyes but he fought them back, he would not be weak. He would be strong, he had to be. Yet in the inner walls of his mind he knew it was a fight he could not win.

Harry, of course, was completely oblivious to Draco's problem. He was eating Shepherds Pie and laughing. Only once did someone dare to make a comment, but they received icy glares from everyone on the table and decided to be quiet and mind their own business. Suddenly in the corner of his mind, Harry heard a whimper. He turned to his blonde mate to find him surrounded by jeering faces. Draco looked cool on the outside but Harry could feel that inside he was crying with pain. Harry saw the despair in Draco's eyes and wanted to go to him. Ron followed his gaze, "go on, I'll cover for you here" he muttered, ears turning red.

Harry got up and walked purposefully toward the table he hadn't wanted to go near for all his past years at Hogwarts. All the Slytherins were to busy taunting Draco to notice him until he placed a hand on Draco's shoulder. "Do you want to leave" he whispered to the blonde. Draco just nodded and made to get up.

"Oi! Potter" it was Marcus Flint. "What you done to my seeker?"

"Nothing".

"Yeah right, well I'll teach you" he swung hard at Harry. Harry had fought Dudley often enough to know how duck and dodge pummel blows like this one. He moved calmly to the side. Then Flint said something made him angry, "imagine, the boy who'll save us all is a weak, pathetic, bent, bastard!"

That blew it; Harry swung his fist back and sent it smashing into Flint's face. He did this with such force that Flint ended up on his back five feet away. Harry glared down at him until he felt a tugging one his elbow and looked into Draco's pleading eyes. "Can we go now" he whispered as though terrified.

"Yes, I think so" Harry replied and put his hand in Draco's. They walked hand in hand to the doors of the great all, whispers immediately erupting out behind them. Harry stopped but once and turned and the room went deadly quiet under his feral green eyes. Then he smiled and laughed at Draco dragged him out of the hall and back to their room.


	5. Chapter 5

Makalani Astral – Thanks! Glad u liked the telepathy thing. I needed them to communicate somehow without Hermione knowing, and that was the first thing that came to mind.

Kyra2 – I thought Volcano! Ron has been done much too often, so I decided to make Hermione the difficult one. She is like that in the books – look at what Harry says to Draco about SPEW. All credit goes to Luna Shadowsong for the dining room scene. I left the boys going down to dinner. I only edited what Luna did slightly. Isn't she a good writer?

Ashes7 – original veela piece? I got the idea off Frizzy, and have her permission to use it. If you've read Frizzy's work, I'm flattered that you think its original, but its not really! I've tried to use my own ideas as much as possible. Thanks for the review!

Yana5 – this chapter is coming out as soon as I finish it! ***g*. **lol.

Brenna8 – thanks. Um… he didn't plan anything, he just literally tripped over Harry. The veela blood is from his grandma, on his mother's side, and she was bonded to one of the Malfoys. The bond isn't as dominant in female veela, they can have sex with others who are not their bonded. I'm not going into the details; as this story is only really concerned with male veela.

Marauder no.5 – Thank you. I intend to.

Tigerlily Deepdelver – I'll update as soon as possible. But as I've said before, its either lots of updates and short chapters, or longer chapters and updates further apart. Besides, I'm supposed to be studying for exams, not writing fanfiction!

Witchy-Althea – ok, I'll try to make them more emotional. I can't promise too much in this chapter, but defiantly in the next, hehe (grins evilly as she know what will happen as she has already started writing…) 

More slashy goodness in this chapter, not too much, just a kiss. Anyway, thought a warning was in order. This is a slash story, even if there hasn't been much action yet.

I HAVE A WEBSITE!!! www.darkside.freeuk.com check it out!!

  As soon as they were alone in the deserted entrance hall, Harry wrapped his arms around Draco and held the trembling part-veela tightly. Draco was making small sounds that would have been sobs if they had been any stronger. Draco rested his head on Harry's shoulder while Harry rubbed his back soothingly, the blond's tears soaking the soft fabric of the Gryffindor's shirt. Harry was worried by how tense and afraid Draco was, and started to move them back up the stairs towards their rooms. Draco moved slowly, hiding his face behind a curtain of blond hair. He stumbled several times, and seemed utterly exhausted. The lack of sleep the night before was catching up with him.

  Once they were in their rooms he flopped into an armchair and hid his face in his hands. Harry moved around behind the chair and slipped Draco's school robes off of his shoulders, before beginning to massage the blond's neck. Draco didn't move for a while, but as Harry began to work some of the stress out of his left shoulder he sighed and leaned into the touch. _Do you think you'll be alright now?_ Harry thought tentatively, afraid to break the silence. Draco seemed so fragile, as if he would break if he pressed too hard, but Harry knew that a light massage didn't do anything: you had to be firm, so he pushed his thumbs in firmly on each side of Draco's spine and smiled as the blond arched his back and sighed in relief.

  _I don't know_ Draco thought back, with something like a telepathical groan _I don't know how I'm going to cope in lessons. I'm all over the place. That feels nice…_

  _It'll get better, I promise. _Harry tried to sound reassuring, imagining their link like a tube or a tunnel, and sending warm, reassuring feelings along it. It seemed to work; Draco relaxed more and moaned again, closing his silver eyes. Harry kept up the steady movements of his hands on the Veela's neck and shoulders. Pressing his fingers into the tense muscles and teasing them into relaxing. He wished he had some oil; it would make the whole job so much easier. Of course, it would also help if Draco wasn't wearing a shirt. He could almost feel the blond melting under his touch. The skin on his neck was so soft, yet so hard underneath, like wood covered in velvet. Harry wanted to press his lips to the blond's neck all of a sudden. Now where did that urge come from? he wondered. I must be tired. This is Draco Malfoy! All the veela talk must be rubbing off on me. We've only not been enemies for a day. Well, Draco had stopped a week or so ago, when the mating season started, but Harry had known for less than 24 hours, and he was still reeling. That must be it, he decided. Well, he'd ask the blond about the massage at least, and forget about the idiotic idea of kissing him.

  _Draco-_ he started.  All at once they heard footsteps pounding along the corridor outside, and Ron's voice shouting,

  "Hey! Let me in!" 

  Sir Cadogan's voice could be heard shouting something unintelligible, and Ron's answering. He sounded annoyed.

  Draco stood up, shrugged his robe completely off and stood looking at Harry in his black shirt and jeans. "Shall we?" Harry asked. "Do you think you'll be ok?"

  "Yes, I'll be fine," Draco said, sitting on the sofa. Harry gave him a reassuring grin.

 "Tell me if it gets too much."

  "Harry! Malfoy! Let me in! This bloody picture…"

  "Cadogan! Let Ron in," Harry called.

 "Are you sure? He might be a villain…" the over-enthusiastic picture of the knight shouted.

 "Let him in!" Harry ordered.

  The picture swung open, revealing a flustered Ron, his face red and his blue eyes angry.

  "Hermione is impossible! She's been asking me about you two, prying for information. I told her to back off, but I swear she's planning something. I saw her with Pansy after lunch. They walked off towards Potions together."

 "Pansy? Oh no…" Draco lost what little colour he had at the mention of the pug-faced Slytherin girl.

 "Speaking of potions, aren't you going to be late if you don't leave now?" Harry asked, worried. 

"You don't want Snape talking any more points off of Gryffindor. Since I'm not there, he can't take them off me."

 "Shit!" Ron exclaimed, before tearing out of the open portrait hole and disappearing down the corridor.

  Harry swung the picture back so it was flush with the wall again, and seriously thought about asking Dumbledore for a replacement. Maybe the Mermaid in the Prefects bathroom, or the Fat Lady's friend, Violet. Strong arms around his waist and a head laid on his shoulder distracted his from his musings. He turned around in Draco's embrace, and held him gently. Looking into the silver eyes, he smiled softly.

"Are you going to be ok now?"

 "Yes, I think so. Um… there's a Quidditch match a week tomorrow."

 "Yeah, Gryffindor against Ravenclaw. Why?"

 "You'll be playing, and I'll be watching, and it might be a long match, and I'll be alone," Draco said quietly, looking lost and worried.

  "I'll be talking to you all through the match, and you can talk to me. But if you're really worried, I won't play. I'm sure someone can take my place," Harry said reassuringly, trying to lift the shadows from his future mate's eyes. Draco looked up at the other Seeker, surprised.

  "You'd give up Quidditch for me?" he asked incredulously. Harry blushed.

"I need a shower," he muttered, hugging Draco quickly and dashing up the stairs.

 "But you had one this morning! It's only just after lunch!" Draco called after him, puzzled.

***

  Harry turned on the water, tore off his clothes and dived under the warm waterfall. He couldn't believe he had said that he wouldn't play if Draco didn't want him to. He needed to do some serious self examining. He had meant it, he was sure of that. But when had his feelings, his worry and concern for the blond got that intense? It was only yesterday that he had found out about the whole thing! And yes, he had been worried sick about Draco, but since when had the Malfoy heir been that big a part in his life? It wasn't like they had been close before. He shouldn't be having any feelings for the blond; he was supposed to hate him! But love and hate are close together, he supposed. It didn't feel wrong, but it should.

  It must be the bond, he decided. The link between himself and the Slytherin. It was making him care. But… when he thought about it like that, it made it seem like their connection was a bad thing, and it wasn't. It was one of the best things that had ever happened to him. Yet, a few days ago he would have said that being bonded to the pale Slytherin was the worst thing that could ever happen to him, including the Dursley's! Oh, he was confused and messed up! And worse, the school didn't appear to be too happy about it. He hadn't been expecting total understanding, but the blond had been having a bad time at the other table. He just wished Draco had called him sooner; he might have been able to save the blond some heartache.

  Still, worrying was one thing, say that he wouldn't play Quidditch was quite another! Quidditch was his life, his two options when he left Hogwarts were Auror, and if that failed; Professional Quidditch player. It was his one real link with his father, the link that he could feel. They had both felt the joy of flying, of soaring through the air.

  But he had become distracted. He was supposed to be thinking about Draco, wasn't he? The Slytherin that had suddenly become a huge part of his life. And he didn't seem to be as annoyed about it as he should be. Why was that? The link wasn't all of it. But this Draco seemed to be a completely different person. He had never known the real Draco, he supposed. It must have all been a mask. A mask that now, thanks to Harry, was slipping.

  And why did he feel guilty about that? And why had he given the blond that massage? There was no doubt that Draco had needed it; his neck and shoulders had been as tense and knotted up as a piece of wood. But…

 _Harry?_ came a tentative thought. _Are you ok?_

_Yeah. I just needed to think. I think better in a shower._

_Ok, if you're sure. Don't take much longer please._

_Oh Gods, I'm sorry, I totally forgot how upset you were. I was just thrown there for a bit. I'll be out in a minute._  Harry climbed out of the shower, and looked around in shock. _Shit!_

_What is it?_ Draco thought immediately.

Harry stuck his head around the door "Um… Draco, could you possibly get me a towel?" He could hear the Slytherin laughing as he disappeared from view, and blushed. Draco returned quickly, and handed Harry a blue towel. The Gryffindor seeker wrapped it around his waist, and came out of the bathroom. He waked into the bedroom in search of a clean shirt, as his old one was stained with Draco's tears, not realizing the way the part veela was staring at his wet half naked body. The first thing he knew was a tentative hand touching his shoulder. He turned around quickly.

 "What?" he asked, a little defensively. But his annoyance soon melted when he saw the lost and heartbroken look in the blond's eyes. "What is it?" he asked more softly.

 "I… I…" Draco tailed off, unable to express his longing in words. His heart pounded in his chest and his blood raced like fire through his veins. Draco's pupils dilated in suppressed emotion and anxiety. What could he do? Leave the room? But then he wouldn't be with Harry and he couldn't bear that. Instead he did the only thing that would quell the aching cold in his heart; he leaned forward and covered Harry's soft lips with his own.

Hehe! Harry has a thing for showers, and Draco has a thing for Harry being wet! I'm evil…


	6. Chapter 6

Kyra2 – Thanks! Woah, that review was good! You have so many good ideas! I think I will keep the painting. As for the match, I'm thinking of Harry maybe having to run halfway through, because Draco needs him, but I still want Gryffindor to win! Argh, Decisions, decisions… Pansy and Hermione will be in for it soon, I suspect. The bond is rather like a dream come true for Harry, I guess, once he stops being stubborn and accepts it!
    
    Yana5 – Sorry you hate cliffhangers. I'll try not to make the next few chapters end on them…
    
    Witchy-Althea – It is scary, isn't it? Who knows what they could get up to!! I love Draco to pieces too. Thanks for saying my idea's original even if I was inspired by someone else, your review made my day!
    
    Brenna8 – I'll take that as a compliment! Hehe! I've been called evil! Lalala!!!
    
    wintermoon2 – ooh! I get called evil again! The recommendation was no prob, your story deserves it! I wish you weren't finishing it, but I guess all good things come to an end. *sniffs* still, it's been good.

Makalani Astral – does that mean you want to eat them? Lol. Thanks for the review!

RaiNbOwGrL22 – I'm writing! My Beta took ages with this chapter!!

Hey, has anyone read a story in which Harry and Draco are together, but Harry is having trouble accepting it? Sirius is still around, Draco has been cutting himself, and Harry tries it when he gets drunk. They cannot sleep when they are apart. And they do Pagan stuff for Halloween? Cos I read it in America, and now I'm in England, I want to read it again; it wasn't finished, and I can't for the life of me remember who it was by or what it was called. Someone help me!!!

I apologise for Hagrid's crap accent. I can't do his one, never have been able to. That's why my characters tend to avoid Hagrid.

/…/ - voice in Harry's head.

Italics indicate telepathical thoughts between Harry and Draco.

~…~ - parseltongue, if I use it in this fic.

  Harry stiffened in shock and Draco pulled away as soon as he could, blushing. "Sorry," he started to say, but Harry's fist connected with his nose before he could get the word out.

  "NEVER do that again!" Harry yelled, before storming out of the room, clutching a clean shirt in one hand and his jeans in the other. Draco slowly crumpled into a heap by the wardrobe, holding his nose and sobbing. He barely noticed the blood that seeped between his fingers. 

  Harry stomped into the 'study' – a small room off of the main room downstairs – and changed back into his clothes. He flung the towel on a chair, dashed through the main room, opened the portrait, closed it and headed towards the nearest exit at a run. He needed to get out of the castle, and Hagrid's hut seemed the most sensible place to go. Hagrid wouldn't ask questions.

  Once outside in the frosty air, he stopped running. He realized that, in his rush to get out of the castle and away from Draco, he wasn't wearing a cloak and his hair was still soaking wet. Pulling out his wand, he muttered a charm to dry the unruly black locks, and summoned his cloak from the castle. Everyone was in classes, and so there was no one to see the black garment whizzing along the corridors in response to his 'Accio Cloak!". As he calmed down, he realized that Hagrid might have a class. But he could still wait in the hut until the gentle giant returned. He set off, the frosty grass crunching under his worn trainers.

  When he was about halfway to the hut, Hedwig swooped down and landed on his shoulder. He offered her his wrist, and she stepped delicately onto it, allowing him to untie the letter that someone, probably Remus, had attached to her leg.

  "I haven't got any food on me, sorry. You can come to Hagrid's hut with me if you like, I'm sure there will be something for you to eat there," he told her, rubbing her feathers affectionately.

  Hedwig hooted softly, and stepped back onto his shoulder, apparently accepting his invitation. As Harry walked the rest of the way to the Cabin, he tried not to think of the state that Draco must be in. Malfoy wasn't his problem. /but he is now/ a little voice in the back of his head pointed out. /you're his mate. You're supposed to look after him. You almost failed today at lunch. And now you're running away/. I'm not running away. He's not my problem. He should have chosen someone else to mate with, someone who doesn't hate his guts. Harry argued back. But the voice wouldn't shut up. /But I thought you'd agreed that you don't hate his guts?/ it asked, innocently. Well, that was before he kissed me. Now shut up, we're here. Harry ordered. Voices in his head were the last thing he needed right now. Particularly one's that sounded like his dead mother.

  Hagrid was in, and he greeted Harry with a bear hug, which dislodged Hedwig from his shoulder. She fluttered off with a disgruntled hoot, and settled on the table.

  "Hiya Harry. Why'd you bring Hedwig?"

  "Oh, she brought me a letter, and I didn't have anything for her, but as I was on my way to your place, I thought I might be able to get her something here?"

  "Yeah… hold on a sec…" Hagrid began digging in his many pockets, and finally produced some owl treats, which he handed to Harry. Harry fed them one by one to Hedwig, while Hagrid made some tea. Once the treats were gone, Hedwig took flight, and Hagrid handed Harry a steaming wooden mug, filled to the brim with the hot, sweet liquid. 

  "So, wha's wrong? Why'd you come ta see me?" Hagrid asked, peering at Harry over the rim of his enormous cup. "You're suppost to be in less'ns, ain't ya?"

  "No, Dumbledore gave me today off."

  "Oh? Why?"  Hagrid asked curiously, raising his bushy eyebrows.

  "Well… I'd better tell you from the beginning. I've just had the craziest 24 hours ever..."

***

  As Harry told Hagrid the whole strange story, Dumbledore travelled to their suite to check up on his two charges. When no one responded to his call, be began to investigate. He looked first in the study. It was empty, and everything seemed normal, until he noticed the wet blue towel flung carelessly on the back of one of the chairs. His curiosity sparked, he climbed the stairs, noticing the scent of sandalwood and ginger on the air; Harry's favorite shower gel.

(note: It's so cool! It's a red shower gel, and when your squeeze it out and rub your hands together, it looks like you're covered in blood! Plus it smells really nice)

  There was nothing but steamy scented air in the bathroom, and Dumbledore made his way cautiously to the door to the bedroom. He peeked around before opening it properly, not sure what he would find. He entered swiftly once he saw Draco crumpled in the corner, sobbing, with blood staining his face, hands and clothes.

  "What happened?" the kindly headmaster asked gently.

  Draco raised lost silver eyes and stared at the jeweled medallion that hung around the old man's neck, refusing to look him in the eye.

  "I didn't mean to, but I was so cold, and it was the only thing that would make the cold go away. I didn't mean to, but it hurt, it hurt so much. I'm so so so sorry, I didn't mean to, but it was cold, in my heart, and it hurt so much, and he'd just had a shower, and he was so warm, and I was so cold. I didn't mean to, I'm sorry, so so sorry."

  "What did you do, Draco?" Dumbledore asked urgently. He had to know soon; looking at the state Draco was in he wouldn't be conscious for long.

  Draco looked at him pleadingly, his eyes filled with tears. "I kissed him. I didn't mean to, but I was so cold…" he managed, before he went white and collapsed. 

  Dumbledore scooped the blond up in his arms, and quickly made his way through the empty halls to the infirmary. Once he got there, he placed Draco gently on the nearest bed, and called for the nurse.

  "Oh my goodness!" Poppy exclaimed when she saw Draco, his ashen white face making the blood covering him more apparent. "What happened!?"

  "I fear Draco's need is growing faster than Harry's acceptance of the situation. I did think he took it a little too well. Apparently Draco kissed him, and from the looks of it, Harry punched him in the face and stormed out."

  "Oh dear," Madam Pomfrey muttered, wiping the blood off of Draco's face with a soft cloth and some warm water.

  "Draco said he was sorry, he didn't mean to and that he was cold. Oh, and that it hurt. He repeated himself a lot when I found him."

  "Well, you know as well as I do that the first few weeks of the season are the worst. After that it cools down a little. This normally isn't a problem…"

  "But with Harry not that willing, it becomes one," Dumbledore finished for her.

  "We need to reunite them as soon as possible, for Draco's sake."

  "Still, I think that Harry will need some time."

  "Do you know where he has gone?"

  "No. I suspect either the library, his common room, the room of requirement, Hogsmede or Hagrid's. I'll start looking as soon as Draco is stable."

  "Headmaster, he won't be stable until Harry is here, holding his hand! I suggest you go find the boy now, and call on his sense of honour and justice. Draco doesn't deserve this, and what happened was not his fault. Harry must be made to see that. Appeal to the Gryffindor in him, and hope that this will not happen again," Poppy said angrily, her eyes flashing.

  "Very well, I'll start now. The library is closest," Dumbledore said, getting up and making his way to the exit. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Look after him."

  "I will, Headmaster, I will."

***

  "And then he kissed me, so I punched him. Then I came here," Harry said, finishing off his story.

  "Well then, you 'ave 'ad one strange day, Harry. And it's not over yet. I think yer should talk to Dumbledore."

  "I will, soon. I'm not gay, they have to realize that."

  "Yeah, but it seems to me that Malfoy is t'one who really needs 'elp 'ere. He can't change the way 'e is. Ye should ask Dumbledore if there's any way for Malfoy to get through this without kissin'."

  "I will."

  "Now, wha's in you're letter? From Remus, did yer say it was?"

  "Yeah," Harry said, opening the roll of parchment he had been gripping in his fist. He smoothed out the crease marks and read aloud;

  "Dear Harry,

                   If Draco is a veela, as you have said, then you should not blame him for anything. He cannot help being the way he is. But it is more complicated than that. You are probably thinking 'but I'm not gay!' well, I should tell you that the link between a veela and his or her mate is a magical one. It would never occur if both participants were not suitable. Which means that you are probably bi, but haven't realized it yet. You're only sixteen, remember. If you are linked or bonded or whatever you would like to call it, then it means that you can be happy together.

              But I should warn you; veela mating season is at its most intense in the first few weeks, after that it peters out. So Draco will need a lot of contact soon, and then for the next two months you will only need to hold hands or touch occasionally. After that, Draco will be constantly defending you, as well as doing everything you say. I know you are most likely horrified by this information, but it is fact, Draco will need you soon. Don't be surprised if he kisses you or something, he will not be able to help himself.

          Harry, none of this is Draco's fault, he is probably as shocked about it as you were, or he would be if he could be. Veela, even part veela are different. And Draco cannot always control his instincts. Be good to him. And be wary of his Mother. I have a suspicion that Sirius' cousin will not be best pleased. Keep in touch, write me if you have any more questions.

           Stay safe

           Remus."

  "Well, does tha' help?" Hagrid asked.

  "Yeah, sort of. It explains a lot, at least. So it wasn't Draco's fault. But despite what Remus says, I'm not gay!"

  "Harry, Remus is good at stuff like this. He knows what he is talkin' about. I know the same, if yer ask me, I think Remus is right. Go look in a book if yer don't believe me."

  "I think I will. Thanks for the tea."

  "Anytime. Come again soon, and you c'n bring that Draco if yer likes," Hagrid said gruffly.

  "Ok, thanks Hagrid," Harry said, walking to the door.

  "See ya, Harry."

  As Harry left Hagrid's cabin, he saw Dumbledore coming down the front steps. Not wanting Dumbledore to see him and wonder where Draco was, or worse, be looking for him because of Draco, Harry ducked into the forest and made his way silently to the Quidditch pitch and into the castle from there.  He walked quickly to the library, and started to search.

  It didn't take long for him to find a book on Veela in the 'Magical Creatures' section.

Part-Veela quickly become attached to their mates, usually found before the mating season the year they are sixteen. In some cases they do not find their mate in time, and spend the entire mating season looking. If they do not find their mate by the end of the season, they die in despair, believing that they did not find their mate because the mate didn't want them. Luckily these cases are rare, and usually occur when the Parents of the Part-Veela keep their child indoors, denying them time to go and search. The mate is always someone compatible with the part-veela, even if the mate doesn't realize this at first.

_The first month of the mating season is the most intense, with the part-veela needing constant contact, of varying degrees of intimacy, throughout the weeks. During the last two months, the need is less intense, and the part-veela will be alright for long periods of time alone. For the rest of the year the part-veela only stays close to their mate to protect him or her. This over protectiveness can get irritating, but if the mate orders the part-veela to go away, the part-veela has to obey._

  Harry stopped reading at this point. It appeared that everything Remus, and Draco himself, had told him was true.  He sat quietly, thinking things over. There was no one in the Library but himself and Madam Pince, who was asleep and snoring softly. He had just decided to return to the rooms and apologise to Draco, as well as asking him not to do it again if he could help it, when Dumbledore poked his head around the library door.

  "Sir?" Harry asked. Dumbledore immediately looked at him and beckoned. Harry made his way to the door, and the headmaster immediately started walking to the infirmary, making Harry jog to keep up.

  "Hagrid said that you had gone to the Library."

  "I had to see if what Remus had told me was true."

  "And was it?"

  "Yes. I'm sorry for punching Draco. I didn't understand."

  "I'm afraid you will have to."

  "I do now, but I don't like it. Is there any way to keep him from kissing me again? I'm not gay, hugging is about all I can cope with."

  "I expect hugging will be all that is needed for the next few days, but Draco may well have to kiss you again. I'm sorry, but please don't hurt him or run again. Just let him, until he is able to pull away. I'm sure he would be just as shocked as you were, if he could be. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Here we are. Go to him, before Poppy has both our heads."

  Harry walked to Draco's bed, taking in the white face, the closed eyes and the mussed hair. He noticed the blood on the sheets and Draco's shirt, and winced. Draco's hand was cold, and he held it between his own, rubbing gently, trying to warm it.

  "Ah, here you are at last," Madam Pomfrey said reprovingly, bustling out to see who the visitors were.

  "Now, now, Poppy. We'd better leave them alone. Come on, we can talk in your back room, and have some coffee while we're at it."

  "Very well, Albus. Now Harry, be gentle with him."

  "I will be."

 The two older wizards left them alone. After a few minutes, Draco began to stir, as if he was waking up from a long sleep. He sleepily opened his eyes and blinked a lot before he focused on Harry. As soon as he realized who the figure at his bedside was, his face lit up in a beaming smile. Then, as consciousness fully returned, the happy expression turned into horror.  The part-veela sat up sharply, making himself dizzy.  Once the room stopped spinning, the scared Slytherin began to babble his explanation.

  "I'm sorry; I was so cold, and it hurt. I'm sorry, it was the only thing that would make the cold go away. I'm so sorry, can you ever forgive me?" he asked desperately.

  "It's ok, it wasn't your fault. I realize that now. I shouldn't have hit you. Just don't kiss me again, ok?"

  "I promise."

  "Will you be ok now?"

  "Yes. Um…" Draco looked at Harry shyly, a childlike air about him. "Can I have a hug? I promise I won't kiss you."

  "Ok." Harry opened his arms and Draco leaned into him with a sigh of pure relief and contentment.  It was odd, Harry pondered, that having Draco in his arms did feel so right.  Maybe there was something in this suitability junk after all…

And just in case you skipped the bit at the top, has anyone read a story in which Harry and Draco are together, but Harry is having trouble accepting it? Sirius is still around, Draco has been cutting himself, and Harry tries it when he gets drunk. They cannot sleep when they are apart. And they do Pagan stuff for Halloween? Cos I read it in America, and now I'm in England, I want to read it again; it wasn't finished, and I can't for the life of me remember who it was by or what it was called. Someone help me!!!


	7. Chapter 7

Miss Lesley – Draco's mum gave him the veela genes.  Please can you see if you can remember the name of the story? It's driving me mad!

Kyra2 – yeah, it is a bit like that, almost.  But then, veela only bond to people who will love then and care for them. It gets better in this chapter… hehe.  Harry acts kinda OOC, but it's funny! I can actually imagine them doing what they did in this chapter, if it was possible in Hogwarts.

AzureLuna – ok, I'll see if I can get you some sarcasm! Lol. I love sarcastic Draco as well as sweet Draco. But as for the Sirius/Remus, well, Sirius is gone in this fic. *sniffs* sorry! And yes, Harry was a jerk.  He's got over himself now.  He's the OOC one in this chapter!

Litharalen – THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!!! *dances around room in delight* My mum thinks I'm crazy now.  Oh well. Thank you so much! I'll remember it now! Thanks again, you are the best!

Shania Maxwell – don't worry, I will. Thanks for the review!

Witchy-Althea – It's Circles of Influence, by Marysia. I feel bad for Dray too, but it's all in a good cause! Lol. Bad plot bunny! Bad!

SailorBaby16 – Thanks for the review! I thought I'd be original and not have Ron be unaccepting, just for a change!

Gizachick – yeah, its on schnoogle. Thanks for the tip anyway. I'm glad you like this fic!

Yana5 – thanks! Um… I don't think I need help with anything, although what you'd like to happen between Harry and Draco would be cool.  Give me some ideas of what you want?

Makalani Astral – Siri is unfortunately no more in this fic. *sniffs* Sorry. Thanks for the review!

Cherie – Thanks! Yay! I get called Evil! Hermione is being a bit cruel, isn't she? Poor girl.  Ok, I'll get to the bit with Narcissa soon. I'll give you a bit of inside info: Narcissa's coming early! Dun dun duh!

Brenna8 – Thanks. You know, after all the time I spent looking for that fic, I'm wondering now why I didn't just post a note on here in the 1st place! Lol.

Xikum – ok, here we go again.  Narcissa is the part veela.  Neither of the elder Malfoys love each other – it is a convenience marriage. Narcissa is a lesbian, but because of the need for a Malfoy heir, well, think magic IVF, ok? Lucius loved Lily. (poor guy). Narcissa is the big baddie in this fic.

WITCH WERE – I thought I'd be original! If you look in the books, Hermione doesn't accept that the house elves are happy – see, I have evidence! I'm not talking/writing completely off the top of my head! This fic is slightly possible! Voices – but what about the whole H/D relationship?    Me – shut up! Lalala! I'm not listening!!

Eadon – ok, my brother now thinks I'm nuts cos I just yelled out 'Ah! I just got called a sweetie!' at the top of my voice.  Lol. Thanks for the review, and the rating for this story seems to be rising. Don't worry about finding the fic, I now have it! The Marks that we Bear and Circles of Influence.  Gods, I have been searching for months for those!

This chapter deserves a slash warning.  More so than the last chapter.  If you don't think you can cope, stop reading.  There have been warnings from Dumbledore and Remus that things are gonna get more intense!!  (Those slashers who love shower scenes, we have a mild one. Lime, not Lemon)

Hey! It went all dark at the end without me meaning it to! See, that's what happens when I write long chapters.  You think its going to end happily, and then bam! It goes all sinister.

Beta'd by Luna Shadowsong and Tasselhoffella.  Love you guys!

Italics indicate telepathical thoughts between Harry and Draco.

  Harry and Draco decided not to try to face the school again that day – once was more than enough! Instead, they asked Dobby for dinner in their room.  The chirpy house elf readily complied, and the pair were soon tucking into minestrone soup with fresh baked ciabatta and lemon meringue pie for dessert.

  They didn't talk much over the meal, concentrating more on eating.  Harry was avoiding looking at Draco, and the part-veela was still reeling over the shock of kissing Harry.  He was very aware of the warmth of Harry's leg pressed against his own, and the scent of the dark haired teen.  Harry smelled of fresh air, spices and some sweet scent that was unique to him.  Draco knew that girls love it when guys have their own, nice, scent, and he suspected that Harry's would drive then mad.  It certainly did funny things to his insides.  He stole a glance at the green eyed Gryffindor, and noticed anew the neat way in which Harry ate his food.  He didn't rush, but ate quickly and carefully, almost as if he wanted to get the meal over as quickly as possible without being rude.  Draco knew that the Gryffindor always ate like this – he had been watching him at the Gryffindor table for the past week or so – so he figured it was something about his past that made him eat that way. He promised himself that he would ask the raven haired Gryffindor when he got the chance. He just hoped that he wouldn't spark a painful memory.  He knew that Harry's childhood hadn't been the best, and he didn't want to make Harry remember things that he would rather forget.

  Once they were finished eating, they headed into the study to get started on their homework.  It was pleasant room, quite small and filled with books.  There was only one desk, but it was wide enough for two people.  A house elf had taken away the wet towel that Harry had flung over the chair, so there was nothing in the room to remind them of the disastrous episode after lunch.  They had some Transfiguration practice to do, and a potions essay due in the next Friday, which they wanted to get it out of the way as soon as possible.  The essay was on an invisibility potion.  Draco already knew how to make the potion, and had already used it quite a lot, but he was willing to bet Harry relied on his invisibility cloak too much to have learnt about it, or made it, before. 

  The essay was easy, all about the process of making the potion, its properties, any possible side effects and an evaluation of the usefulness of the potion.  Draco had written a few paragraphs before he looked over at Harry, needing to see if the other boy was there.  The chairs were to far apart for them to touch.  He considered moving closer, but then abandoned the idea almost immediately; Harry wouldn't like it.  But he _had_ to.  He was cold; he needed Harry close.  He shifted his chair quickly, and leaned against the other boy, breathing quickly.  Harry shifted and turned quickly, looking at Draco in concern.

  "Are you ok?"

  "Yes.  Just needed to be closer," Draco explained.

  "Are you right or left handed?"

  "Left. Why?"

  "I'm right handed.  As you're sitting on that side, we can hold hands." Harry said, offering the part-veela his hand.  Draco grasped it gratefully, and continued writing.  But watching the other boy was a far better pastime than writing an essay.

  He could see that Harry was having trouble, looking at his textbook with an (adorable) frown on his face and chewing on the end of his quill.  However the Gryffindor would probably be too proud to accept help.  But then, there was no harm in trying.  So Draco reached out and tapped Harry gently on the shoulder.

  "Hey, need any help?" he asked.

  Harry looked up, astonishment written all over his face.  "What?" he questioned.

  "Do you want me to help you?" 

  "Sorry, I forgot just how different you are," Harry said, still staring.

  "What do you mean?" Draco asked, puzzled.

  "The old Malfoy would never have offered to help. Never."

  "I'm not that Malfoy, I never was.  It was all an act.  Now, do you want help?"

  "Please."

***

  While the two boys were writing their essays, Hermione and Pansy were in the Library, glaring daggers at each other.

  "Just because I need your help, doesn't mean I like you, Granger," Pansy spat.

  "Likewise.  Let's just get this over with," Hermione said through gritted teeth. "We want the restricted section."

  "Do you have a note?"

  "Yes.  I told Flitwick I wanted to research the fairies some more, but there was a particular book that was so old and frail that it was in the restricted section. He gave me a note."

  "Ok, ok, spare me the process.  I'm not interested in how you hoodwinked the teachers; I just wanted to know if you had the note!" Pansy snapped.

  The two unwilling partners gave the note to Madam Pince and began searching the shelves.  Hermione found what they were looking for, and they retired to a window seat to read the large, dusty tome.

  The book was written in Old English, which was why Hermione had needed the Slytherin, who could read, write and speak the old tongue fluently.  Hermione had known this for a while, as Pansy would boast about it in Potions, or whenever she got the chance.  Hermione had considered learning it herself; most of the really interesting history books were written in it.  But she wasn't willing to wait until she had learnt the language before she had done something about the current problem.

  Harry and Malfoy could not be together.  Harry was not gay. Therefore Malfoy had put some sort of spell or something on Harry.  Or, if the veela story was correct – and Ron seemed to believe it – she needed to do something to make Harry stop tolerating Malfoy. 

  There were several spells in the book which they could try.  One was a 'detect enchantment' spell, another was a 'hate' spell.  There were also a few others for backup if the first two failed.

  "These will do, Parkinson.  Read out the instructions, and I'll write them down," she said to Pansy.

  The Slytherin read out the instructions.  The 'detect magic' spell was easy, merely involving a incantation.  The 'hate' spell was a potion, with a chant to set it working.

  "Well try the 'detect' spell tomorrow, when we see them," Hermione said.

  "Tomorrow's Saturday, and a Hogsmede trip too. Somehow I doubt that they'll be around," Pansy pointed out scornfully.

  "Whenever we next see them, then. I'm going now," Hermione said, getting up.

  "I'll contact you Tuesday.  Do the spell by then, and we can see what else we have to do.  I'll get the note this time."

  "How?"

  "That's for me to know and you to never find out," Pansy said, smirking in a manner reminiscent of Draco.

  "Keep to the deal."

  "Oh, don't worry, I intend to.  You get your friend back, I get my future husband.  It would never do for the Malfoy heir to royally screw up such a nice match with the Parkinson's by bonding with a male, would it?"

  "Just as long as anything we try doesn't hurt Harry, we have a deal."

  "I remember, I remember.  Now, I'm going.  I suggest you go find your luuver boy.  I bet he's been missing you."

  "Me and Ron aren't like that."

  "Maybe not, but I know he sure wishes you were."

  With that final jab, Pansy left the library.  And left Hermione thinking deeply.  She knew that Ron liked her.  Maybe even loved her, although she's given him little reason and no encouragement. After the Tournament and the whole business with the ball and Viktor Krum, she had thought that he had written her off. Obviously not.  Oh Dear! Could things get any more messed up? She wondered hopelessly as she climbed the stairs to the Gryffindor tower.

***

  After Draco had helped Harry complete the essay, they had little to do.  Draco was aching inside, but he had it under control, or so he hoped.  He also hoped that Harry would suggest something to do soon, or he was pretty sure that he'd so something he'd regret.

  Harry was taking it wonderfully, not objecting when Draco wanted to sit right next to him and hold his hand as they worked.  But Draco wanted more.  He knew that he could hold out for a few days, but not much longer.  The more he was around Harry, the more he wanted to kiss the Gryffindor, and the harder the urge was to suppress.

  His thoughts began to wander, and he jerked himself back to reality quickly.  There was no way that Harry would be lying on the bed in nothing but boxers in the next few minutes, so it was no use wanting it, he told his brain sharply.  He had the strong impression that his brain stuck its tongue out at him as it replaced the mental image of Harry on a bed in boxers with one of Harry in leather on a motorbike.  Only there wasn't a lot of leather in the image.

  "I'm having a shower," He told Harry quickly. "Can I have a hug before I go?"

  "Sure," Harry said, wrapping his arms around the part veela.  "See you soon."

  "Yeah," Draco replied, climbing the stairs, his brain already debating the important issue; hot or cold shower?

  Hot, he decided.  He hated the cold.

  He left his clothes in the dirty clothes basket and walked into the bathroom, remembering a towel.  He turned the shower on full pelt, and the magically heated water sprayed out at once.  He washed quickly, then took his time while shampooing his blond hair.  Once he was clean he rested one hand against the tiles, checking to see how cold they were.  But apparently the tiles were heated too, and he was able to lean against the wall without any discomfort.

  He was about to start, sliding his hand over his chest, when an image of Harry sprang into his mind.  He couldn't do it himself; he had to have Harry.  It was Harry's job.  Harry should be there, he shouldn't be alone.  Never alone.  Draco was scared; he could feel all rational thought slipping away.  He needed Harry there, now.  That very minute.  But he wasn't.  Draco groaned in despair, and crumpled against the side of the shower, resting his head on his slick knees, his hair plastered to his head by the water.

  _Harry_ he thought, hardly realizing he was doing it.  _Harry, I need you, now…_

  From downstairs, Harry heard the thought, and came running.  He hoped that Draco wasn't still in the shower.  No such luck.  The bathroom was steamy, and at first he couldn't see anything – his glasses had misted up.  Muttering a charm to clear them, he searched for the blond, eventually spotting the still form huddled in a corner of the shower.  There was nothing for it.  Harry shrugged out of his t-shirt, and slipped out of his shoes and socks.  He took of his jeans, but kept the boxers.  He wanted to have some semblance of privacy.

  The shower was warm, and whatever soap Draco had been using smelled nice.  Harry squatted down in front of the blond and ran his fingers through his sodden hair.  Draco stirred slightly, and looked up, his grey eyes confused.

  The next thing Harry knew was that Draco had flung himself on top of the Gryffindor and buried his face in Harry's neck.  He mumbled something unintelligible.

  "What is it, Dray?" Harry asked gently, trying not to think about the fact that he was half lying in a shower with a wet, naked part-veela hugging him.  A part-veela who had already kissed him once that day.  And, to make it worse, it felt good.

  "I thought you'd never come," Draco said again.

  "I'm here. And you're soggy."

  "Sorry," Draco said, sniffing.

  "Don't worry, I'm drenched too."

  "So we're soaked together?"

  "Yeah."

  "Harry?"

  "You called me Dray," Draco said, his grey eyes wondering.

  "Oh, sorry," Harry apologized, blushing slightly.

  "No, no, I liked it."

  "Oh, ok… Dray. What do you want to do now?"

  Draco mumbled something again, looking down and focusing on a spot just over Harry's left shoulder.

  "What?"

  "Kiss you."

  "Do you have to?" Harry asked, trying not to sound too unenthusiastic.

  "I think… yes.  Please Harry, let me! Please!!!" Draco pleaded frantically.

  "Ok, ok.  You can kiss me," Harry said reluctantly, wondering what he had got himself in for.  And wondering why a part of his brain was… pleased?

  Draco's lips were warm and slick with water.  He didn't try to deepen the kiss, and seemed to be ok with the slight contact.  Harry couldn't know that Draco was fighting with every fiber of his being not to deepen the kiss.  He didn't want to scare Harry, but the urge was strong.  He tingled all over.

  Draco pulled away as soon as he could, but one look at Harry's slick, wet, muscled body and he couldn't help himself.

  "Oh, fuck it," he muttered, before leaning forward and capturing Harry's full lips again, pressing against the Gryffindor and parting his lips to let his tongue sweep slowly over the Gryffindor's.  The raven haired teen tasted wonderful.

  At the touch of Draco's tongue, Harry unfroze and yelped, jerking backwards and falling out of the shower.

  "Ow," he stated, rubbing his behind.

  "Sorry," Draco said, stepping out of the shower and diving for his towel.  He purposely didn't look at Harry, knowing that the sight of the dripping wet, half naked teen would make him kiss him again.   "I really am.  It was the shower."

  "That's right, blame it on the poor inanimate object," Harry joked, grabbing one of the blue hand towels and rubbing his hair.

  "Are you ok, then? You're joking.  You don't hate me?"

  "It wasn't your fault.  And I guess I really should be flattered – you picked me over everyone else.  And, well," Harry slowed down, his cheeks flushing.  "I guess I've always wanted someone who would love me for me.  There never seemed much chance of that; everyone sees me as the Boy-Who-Lived, Saviour of the Wizarding World.  They want that, not me.  This veela thing, well, you chose me for me, not my image."  Harry grinned wryly.  "Pity you're a guy, otherwise all my dreams would've come true overnight.  But I guess I can live with you being a guy."

  Draco looked at him, standing in the middle of the bathroom in a pool of water, wearing nothing but a pair of very wet black boxers, a sopping towel clutched in one hand, and swallowed.

  "I'll get you a towel," he said, exiting quickly.

  Once they were dry and dressed, once again they had nothing to do.  It was too cold outside to fly, and they didn't want to face the rest of the school.  They sat close on the sofa in the main room and looked into the fire.

  "Dray?"

  "Yes?"

  "Why did you collapse in the shower? You weren't gone for that long."

  "Um… I missed you."

  "Huh?"

  "Do you really, really want to know?"

  "Yes.  Tell me."

  "Ok.  Sitting next to you, spending time with you, hell, looking at you was getting to me."

  "Am I that bad looking?"

  "Exactly the opposite."

  "Oh, I get it.  You were horny, so you decided to fix that in the shower," Harry stated bluntly, too used to the other Gryffindor's coarse language to be embarrassed.  

  "Um, yes.  And it didn't work," Draco said, blushing.

  "Why ever not?" Harry asked, puzzled.

  "I needed you there.  I couldn't do it alone.  I guess it's one of those veela things.  You weren't there, and it wasn't right.  It's sort of hard to explain."

  "Ok.  Well, I'm ok with the hugs, and, well, that kiss wasn't all that bad, but I refuse to go further."

  "Ok. I hope I can cope with that.  I should be able to," Draco said, sounding as if he didn't have much hope that his statement would be true.  His silver eyes stared deep into Harry's emerald ones.  "Harry? … I think I need another hug."

  "Hey, I have an idea," Harry said, hugging Draco.

  "What?"

  "I think I see something familiar in that cupboard over there."

  Harry walked over to the cupboard in question, and opened it.  He turned back to the blond with a huge grin on his face.

  "A TV!! YES!!"

  "A what?"

  "Television.  Look, I'll show you.  There's a DVD here.  This thing better have a DVD player… yes! We're in business!"

  "What are you talking about?"

  "We are going to snuggle on the sofa and watch a movie.  The choices are: Merlin, Finding Nemo, the Fellowship of the Ring or Velvet Goldmine."

  "Huh? I get the bit about snuggling, but what are you taking about?"

  "Never mind.  What sort of mood are you in? Want something funny, mystical, action packed or sexy?"

  "I'll go with the Lord of the Rings one.  I know the story to that."

  "Ok.  It's just the first book.  I've always wanted to see this.  I never had enough money. This is going to be like a play, only in more places with better scenery.  It's been recorded, and they did a really good job on the movie, its got most of the stuff from the book in.  They cut out Tom B. though. Not enough time. Now, here we go!"

  He grabbed the remote and flung himself back on the sofa, grinning. Zapping the remote at the screen, he sighed happily.  Draco snuggled against him, and they sat back to enjoy the movie.

***

  "Is the next film out yet?" Draco asked once the film had ended.

  "No, not yet.  It will be soon, it's nearly Christmas."

  "That was great."

  "Yeah.  Haven't wizards got some form of this?"

  "Not that I know of. We have plays, but it's much better to get one of those pensives."

  "Huh?"

  "Didn't you know? You can buy these pensives with memories of great events, like goblin wars or people being crowned, stuff like that.  People sell their memories of the events, and you can buy them.  The pensive lets you go to the battle, but you can't be seen or hurt or anything.  Or, well, there's an underground trade in pornographic pensives. People hard up for cash will sell memories of having sex with someone beautiful."

  "How do you know that?"

  "I'm a Malfoy, of course.  My mum is one of the main sellers.  Hell, I'm even in a few of the movies."

  "How come?"

  "I don't want to talk about it."

  "Draco, please tell me."

  "Ok.  I'm beautiful, or so they say.  So my mother thought it would be a good idea to make people sleep with me, and sell the memories."

  "Why?"

  "Because she is a sick, mother fucking bastard.  And she hates me.  She even gave me a copy"

  "Why? Was there even a reason?" Harry asked, horrified at the picture he was getting.

  "Birthday present.  It's got me, dad and a few others.  Want to see? It's easier to show you than tell you.  But, if you do, remember one thing.  Blaise and I were doing it on pain of death, ok?"

  "Ok, but you don't have to show me if you don't want to."

  "I do want to.  I want to share everything with you.  It's right that you should know this.  You should know what I have been forced to do," Draco said desperately.  This talk was dragging up memories he had thought were behind him.  But Harry had to know.

  "Blaise… Blaise Zabini? I thought you were friends."

  "We are.  We just happened to have very similar, very unhappy, childhoods.  We also have other stuff in common.  We stick together."

  "Gods… And I thought I had it bad."

  "You had it worse."

  "What? From what I've heard, you've had it far worse," Harry said, confused.

  "Ah, but my father loves me.  And I had friends growing up.  I was never starved, and I was only in the dark when I wanted.  I look better in candlelight, apparently.  According to my mother.  Do you want to see, or don't you?" Draco asked his eyes empty of emotion.  Harry hugged him, and hesitantly pressed a kiss on the blond's cheek, hoping to snap Draco out of it.

  "It's late.  We should go to bed.  It's, like, 1:00 am.  We can do it tomorrow.  Come on, you're tired.  Let's get some sleep," Harry said softly, leading Draco up the stairs.  "It'll be better in the morning."

  "It will never be better," Draco said dully as he allowed himself to be led into their room.  
  



	8. Chapter 8

Miss Lesley – Draco's mum gave him the veela genes.  Everything is ok with the story now!

Kyra2 – yeah, it is a bit like that, almost.  But then, veela only bond to people who will love then and care for them. It gets better in this chapter… hehe.  Harry acts kinda OOC, but it's funny! I can actually imagine them doing what they did in this chapter, if it was possible in Hogwarts.

AzureLuna – ok, I'll see if I can get you some sarcasm! Lol. I love sarcastic Draco as well as sweet Draco. But as for the Sirius/Remus, well, Sirius is gone in this fic. *sniffs* sorry! And yes, Harry was a jerk.  He's got over himself now.  He's the OOC one in this chapter!

Litharalen – THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!!! *dances around room in delight* My mum thinks I'm crazy now.  Oh well. Thank you so much! I'll remember it now! Thanks again, you are the best!

Shania Maxwell – don't worry, I will. Thanks for the review!

Witchy-Althea – It's Circles of Influence, by Marysia. I feel bad for Dray too, but it's all in a good cause! Lol. Bad plot bunny! Bad!

SailorBaby16 – Thanks for the review! I thought I'd be original and not have Ron be unaccepting, just for a change!

Gizachick – yeah, its on schnoogle. Thanks for the tip anyway. I'm glad you like this fic!

Yana5 – thanks! Um… I don't think I need help with anything, although what you'd like to happen between Harry and Draco would be cool.  Give me some ideas of what you want?

Makalani Astral – Siri is unfortunately no more in this fic. *sniffs* Sorry. Thanks for the review!

Cherie – Thanks! Yay! I get called Evil! Hermione is being a bit cruel, isn't she? Poor girl.  Ok, I'll get to the bit with Narcissa soon. I'll give you a bit of inside info: Narcissa's coming early! Dun dun duh!

Brenna8 – Thanks. You know, after all the time I spent looking for that fic, I'm wondering now why I didn't just post a note on here in the 1st place! Lol.

Xikum – ok, here we go again.  Narcissa is the part veela.  Neither of the elder Malfoys love each other – it is a convenience marriage. Narcissa is a lesbian, but because of the need for a Malfoy heir, well, think magic IVF, ok? Lucius loved Lily. (poor guy). Narcissa is the big baddie in this fic.

WITCH WERE – I thought I'd be original! If you look in the books, Hermione doesn't accept that the house elves are happy – see, I have evidence! I'm not talking/writing completely off the top of my head! This fic is slightly possible! Voices: but what about the whole H/D relationship?    Me: shut up! Lalala! I'm not listening!!

Eadon – ok, my brother now thinks I'm nuts cos I just yelled out 'Ah! I just got called a sweetie!' at the top of my voice.  Lol. Thanks for the review, and the rating for this story seems to be rising. Don't worry about finding the fic, I now have it! The Marks that we Bear and Circles of Influence.  Gods, I have been searching for months for those!

CRazy-GIrl – yeah, Frizzy is da bomb! Thanks for saying you think it's realistic. Hey, if you get permission, review me again and tell me the name of the fic, so I can check it out!

Band Aid – Do they know its Xmas.  Watch the video.  Right at the end there is a long haired blond guy who looks really fed up with the whole thing, and has a 'why am I doing this?!' look on his face. That's sort of how I imagine Lucius Malfoy. Lol. Just thought I'd mention that.

Ok, Tough Draco makes a bit of reappearance in this chapter. It's a bit… different.  I'm sorry, I have a fetish with rock clothes recently. ^_^ Do you think I should get them to dye their hair?

  That night Draco's sleep was restless, and Harry lay awake for a long time, trying to soothe him. He felt so helpless; the nightmares were obviously brought on by Draco's confession, and the Gryffindor felt so guilty and helpless. All he could do was try to smooth away the nightmares when they arrived, stroking the Slytherin's platinum blond hair and humming tunes softly. After a while Draco seemed to slip back into calm slumber, and Harry lay down beside him, rubbing his thumb over the back of Draco's hand in an unconscious caress. However, Draco didn't seem content with that. Without waking up, the blond rolled over and slung his arm carelessly over Harry's waist, snuggling deeper under the covers and sighing happily. Harry froze.

  Once he was certain that Draco was not going to move again, the ebony haired teen closed his eyes. He was tired, and, despite the unfamiliar sensation of someone lying next to him, sleep came quickly. Neither of the pair had nightmares after the switch in position, they slept peacefully through what remained of the night.

  Draco woke first, and looked at Harry in confusion. He didn't remember being this close to the other teen when he fell asleep. And why was his hand around Harry's waist? He snatched it back quickly, and rolled out the bed. Looking over his shoulder to make sure that he hadn't woken the Gryffindor, he headed into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

  As he squeezed the toothpaste out, he stared at his reflection. His hair was in its normal morning tangle, and there were purple shadows under his eyes. He stuck the brush in his mouth, and continued to stare at his reflection, marking the changes the last week had brought. His eyes looked sadder, and yet more hopeful. The blank grey stare was gone; instead they were a soft silver-blue colour. His skin was still as soft, but now it looked soft as well as felt soft.  His face was thinner – a result of not eating a lot during the past week - and he was paler than he had been since he was ill as a child. He rinsed his mouth out and splashed his face before tackling his hair; it was a complete mess of tangles and would take a while to sort properly. He hadn't brushed it after his shower the night before, which certainly didn't help.

  Once his hair was done he tiptoed back into the bedroom to dress. He was done with being soft and submissive. It was time the old Draco put in an appearance, he decided. Not the Draco Harry had known, of course, but the Draco Blaise knew. He smirked slightly. Harry was in for one hell of a shock!

   First came a pair of black silk boxers, then a pair of black denim baggies, complete with chains.  He tugged on some black socks, and then his boots. He was short still, but the boots added a few inches at least. Dragon hide, black (naturally) and covered in buckles they came halfway up his calves. Next he pulled on a tight black t-shirt with a pattern that looked like blood was trickling down it. He had 'forgotten' to mention his preference for Heavy Metal and general punk to Harry when they had been talking.

  Finally he headed back into the bathroom and rummaged in the bag holding his bath stuff.  A house elf had collected it from his room, and apparently tidied it; nothing was where it had been.  Finally he pulled out the object he had been searching for; black eyeliner. He applied it carefully -he didn't want to put on too much and scare Harry. Just a little, to emphasize his eyes. Next came black nail varnish, which dried in seconds due to a handy charm he had picked up. Finally he slid his skull earring into his ear and stuck his tongue out at his reflection, making sure the stud was still nice and shiny. It was charmed to repel anything that might stick to it, but the charm wore off every so often so he usually checked, just in case.

  Feeling normal for the first time in a week, he headed back into the bedroom.  Harry had rolled onto his stomach and twisted the covers around his waist. He had one arm cocked over his head, shielding his face from the light that streamed in through the window, and the other reached out to where Draco had been sleeping. It was clenched in the bedclothes. Harry was frowning in his sleep, his subconscious realizing that something wasn't right; Draco was meant to be there.

  Draco smirked again, and leant over the bed, kissing Harry softly on the cheek. As he had suspected, Harry muttered something, but didn't move. Next Draco slipped a knee up on the bed, steadying himself. He nibbled gently on Harry's ear while running his slender fingers through the black locks that stuck up stubbornly all over the Gryffindor's head. The seeker had great punk hair, Draco thought. It would look even better gelled properly and maybe with the ends dyed. Harry woke with a start, and Draco moved back quickly allow him to sit up without them head-butting each other.

  "Dray? What the fuck happened to you?" Harry asked, taking in the sight of the part veela.

  "Nothing. I felt a bit better this morning, that's all. Close your mouth before a fly gets in."

  Harry obediently closed his mouth, before opening it again to ask; "You're a grunger? Or punk, or whatever you call it."

  "No, I just bought the t-shirt because I thought it would go well with my complexion. Of course I am, you idiot."

  "You didn't tell me before."

  "I missed out quite a bit."

  "Oh."

  "Yeah, oh. You'd better get dressed, I'll order breakfast."

  "Um… ok."

  "See you in a bit!" Draco said cheerily, kissing Harry quickly on the cheek before climbing off the bed and heading downstairs, leaving Harry to shake his head over the sudden transformation in his unpredictable companion.

 Once Harry was dressed and they had eaten breakfast, Draco asked his the question that had been burning him ever since Harry woke up. The Gryffindor was dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans that were way too big for him, and a scarlet knitted jumper with a Hungarian Horntail on the front, also too big. His trainers were also falling apart, and his round glasses really didn't suit him. In Draco's opinion: this was a disaster.

  "Harry?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Can we go shopping?"

  "Huh?"

  "It's Saturday, and a Hogsmede weekend, but I know that Hogsmede doesn't have any decent shops. If we ask Dumbledore and he says it's ok, want to come to London?"

  "Um… ok."

  "Cool! Let's go see Dumbledore then!" Draco said, jumping up and dashing to the door, dragging Harry with him.

  Half an hour later they were taking a portkey to Diagon Alley.

  Before Harry had time to clear his dizzy head Draco had grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the travel shop they had landed in. The blond dashed excitedly along the street, dragging Harry with him. Harry was sure that even he had not been recognized this time; they were going too fast for his scar to be visible.

  Draco screeched to a halt in front of a shop about halfway along the street. The sign over the window said 'Opticians'. Harry didn't have time to look at the window display before Draco dragged him in, and started speaking in his 'Malfoy' voice to the assistant.

  "Ok, he's had glasses since he was a child, can you either give him contacts, better glasses or permanently correct his vision, as quickly as possible. We're in a hurry."

  "Well, sit there dear, and I'll take a look at your eyes," the grey haired witch said, guiding Harry into an armchair in the back corner. Draco moved behind the chair and placed his hand on Harry's shoulder, earning him a curious look from the witch. She took Harry's glasses gently off of his face and shone her wand into his eyes.

  "Can you do anything?" Draco asked after a minute.

  "Yes, I can permanently correct your vision, Harry Potter, isn't it?"

  "Yeah. Please can you, I'm tired of wearing glasses."

  "Of course. This may sting a little," she said, before muttering a charm under her breath.  Harry felt a stinging sensation in his eyes, which made them water. He blinked a few times, screwing his eyes up in an effort to stop the stinging. When he opened his eyes, everything was clear and defined. Colours seemed brighter, edges sharper. He grinned.

  "Wow! Thank you. What do I owe you?"

  "Nothing, Dear, if you would let me put a sign in the window."

  "A sign?" Harry asked confused.

  "Harry Potter himself had his vision corrected here?" Draco asked, more used to fame and advertising than Harry was.

  "Yes, something like that."

  "Sure you can," Harry said, standing. "Thanks again."

  "No problem, it's my job," the old woman said, smiling and showing them to the door. "If you ever have any problems, you just come right back!"

  "I will!" Harry called over his shoulder. Draco was already dragging him into another shop. It was a good thing Diagon Alley wasn't busy that Saturday, or they would have slammed into about 50 people by now, he thought.

  The next shop was a clothes shop. Harry simply stood dumbly while Draco and the shop assistant – who seemed to know the blond – whirled around the shelves and racks, pulling clothes into their arms and occasionally reaching for the same thing. At one point Draco pulled out a very thin shirt and it was pink. Pink net, to be exact. He looked at Harry. "No Draco!"

"Won't you even-"

"I said NO!" Harry nearly yelled.

"Fine. Spoilsport." And so it began again. Draco pulled more and more off the shelves, the majority of which, Harry noticed, was black. "Hey Harry look at this!" Draco called and showed him a plain black shirt. Curious Harry went to see what Draco was so excited about. When he read the phrase on the back of the shirt Harry gave Draco a look that could have melted lead, a look that clearly said 'you have got to be kidding'. With a sigh Draco put the shirt back. They never stopped, try on this or try on that. He couldn't stand it any longer. Finally when a sizeable pile was accumulated, the energetic pair pulled the boy-who-lived into the changing rooms.

  After about an hour they left the shop, laden with bags, and Harry pulled the Slytherin firmly to Florien's for ice cream.  However, he still didn't get a break.

  "Come on, Harry!" Draco pleaded, pulling the cutest face he could manage, which was pretty cute.

  "No!"

  "Please? It'll look so good! And make you look so much sexier!"

  "I thought you didn't care what I looked like!" Harry protested.

  "I wouldn't have bought you all that stuff if I didn't care," Draco pointed out.

  "OK, but still no!"

  "Please?" Draco begged, pouting.

  "No!" Harry forced himself to focus on his ice cream and not on the extremely sexy putting lips of the boy opposite him. "I refuse to get my ear pierced!"

  "Why not!"

  "Because it'll hurt!"

  "No it won't, this is a wizard piercing, not one of those muggle ones."

  "Still no."

  "Ok. Will you get a tattoo then?"

  "NO!"

  "Please? I have one."

  "I know you do. But still no," Harry said firmly, remembering the snake that curled around Draco's right bicep.

  "Come on! I want to get another one anyway."

  "What do you want to get."

  "A dragon, I think."

  "Where?"

  "On my chest, or maybe my back… I haven't decided yet."

  "Won't it hurt?"

  "No, we're wizards, idiot.  It'll take about half an hour, that's all. You should get something."

  An idea occurred to Harry, and he nodded. "Can I get anything I like?" he asked.

  "Yes."

  "Ok, let's go."

  "Really?" 

  "Come on. I don't know where the hell we're going."

  "Follow me."

  Draco led Harry down a side alley, and into a small shop.  There were pictures of tattoos all over the walls, and the two looked while they waited for someone to come and notice them.

  Draco soon found the dragon he wanted; rearing on its hind legs with its tail curled around it's feet and its wings spread. The body was red with a silver underside and the wings were also silver.  Harry thought it was beautiful.

  The Gryffindor didn't expect them to have the design that he wanted, but he looked anyway.  They did have a part of it, but he knew he would have to ask the tattoo-ist for the design he wanted. Trouble was, he didn't want Draco knowing before it was done.

  Just then the tattoo wizard walked through from the back room. He was a huge, muscled man, wearing a white t-shirt and black leather trousers. His arms were covered in so many tattoos that not an inch of bare skin was visible.

  "Draco Malfoy! You said you'd come back," he boomed.

  "I said I would, Tod, and here I am. I'd like this Dragon, and my friend has some sort of original tattoo that he doesn't want me to know about yet."

  "Ok. I'll get Marie to do you then, Draco, and I'll do your friend… Merlin's bollocks! Harry Potter?"

  "Yeah," Harry said, shifting uncomfortably.

  "Sorry, didn't recognize you without the glasses. Looking good, mate.  Draco, Marie's through there. I'll sort Harry out."

  "Ok, see you in a bit, Harry!" Draco said, grinning. He hugged Harry before he walked out. Tod looked at Harry and raised his eyebrow. Harry shrugged.

  "Long story."

  "Good enough. What would you like?"

  Harry began to explain, and Tod grabbed a piece of paper and sketched out the image as Harry described it. Once he was done, Harry looked and liked it. Then they moved to the back room, where Draco was lying on his front with his t-shirt under his head and his trousers and boxers halfway down his arse. Harry grinned at the blond, who winked suggestively.

  _See something you like?_ His telepathic voice asked.

  _Maybe._ Harry replied.

  _Should I find someone else if you aren't interested?_

_  I didn't think you could._

_  Oh yes.  Damn veela instinct.  I could have anyone and I'm stuck with you!_

_  Am I really that bad?_

_  Worse. But you get better. Especially if you'd get your ear pierced._

_  No! For the last time!_

_  Oh, come on! You only live once._

_  No!_

_  Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!_

_  I won't get my ear pierced. _Harry thought firmly. However…_  I might get my nipple done, if you beg._

_  PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!!! Man, Harry, that would look so good!_ Draco cried, practically drooling at the thought. _ And it would be sooooo sexy! Fuck… _

_  What?_

_  Now I have a problem._

  Harry laughed out loud at that, and Tod looked at him strangely.  Draco mock glared, and Marie looked at the blond in astonishment.  To take his mind off the information Draco had just imparted to him, Harry looked at the assistant properly for the first time.  She was slim and had purple hair.  Her ears were pierced about six times each, and she had a piercing in both her nose and eyebrow. She was wearing a black PVC corset with purple lacing and thigh high boots with a blue tartan miniskirt. He could see tattoos on the strip of skin between the boots and the skirt, and there were more on her arms and chest. Some were moving. A cat flicked its tail on her shoulder and there was a waterfall splashing down from under her skirt. A picture of Curt Cobain winked at him from the curve of her left breast.

  He realized that he was staring, and looked away quickly, managing not to blush. Draco had been right; the tattoo didn't hurt. If what Draco had said about piercings was true as well, he might just get a few of those too…

***

  Once their tattoos were finished, it was lunchtime. They headed back out onto Diagon Alley and made a bee line for a nice café. Harry ordered 2 hot chocolates and 2 plates of chicken and chips.

  "It's really nice here," he told Draco. "When I was here for a week, I ate here most days."

  "Why were you here?" Draco asked curiously.

  "Ran away. Long story."

  "Ok. You can tell me some other time."

  "Can we talk about something else?"

  "Of course," Draco said immediately. "Can I see this tattoo then? I did pay for it after all. It's a bit rude to hide it, don't you think?"

  "Sure," Harry said, grinning and pulling his sleeve up to his shoulder. Draco gasped in awe, but a slight frown creased his brow.

  "It's beautiful, but I don't understand," he said quietly.

  "What do you mean?" Harry asked.

  "Well, it has some sort of meaning, doesn't it? I don't know enough about you to figure it out."

  "Oh," Harry said, looking down at the tattoo.  Draco was right; it was beautiful. A proud four-pronged antler with a red and while lily coiled gracefully around the prongs. He smiled; Draco wouldn't get the full meaning of the tattoo, but Ron and Hermione would understand straight away. A small pang of guilt poked him at the thought of his two best friends; he really should spend some more time with them.

  "So?" Draco asked, breaking Harry from his reverie. "What does it mean?"

  "The flower is a Lily, you probably know my mother was called Lily," he started.

  "Of course! I remember. But why the antler?"

  "My dad."

  "Huh?"

  "He was an animagus. Unregistered. Same as Pettigrew and Sirius. They did it in 5th year, because of Remus. Sirius was a big dog, Peter is a rat and Dad was a stag. His nickname was Prongs."

  "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs!" Draco gasped.

  "How did you know that?"

  "Graffiti in the Slytherin changing rooms. Been there for years, carved into the shower wall. 'Moony Wormtail Padfoot and Prongs should die!' Always wondered what the hell that meant."

  "Well, now you know."

  "Yes. Now, were you serious about getting your nipple pierced? Please say you were."

  "I was."

  "Yes! Can we go now?" Draco cried eagerly.

  Harry grinned, and picked up the vinegar. He had spotted the waitress walking towards their table. She slid the plates onto the table, and he immediately began sprinkling the vinegar over the plate. "No, I want to eat this first."

  Draco grinned. "Have it your way." 

  "Oh, don't worry. I intend to."

***

  Harry wondered what the wizard who owned the piercing place must have thought. They had walked in hand in hand, and then when Harry had pulled his t-shirt off, Draco hadn't been able to take his eyes off Harry's muscled torso. Harry had had to punch Draco to get him to respond to the wizard's questioning.

  "Hey, Dray!"

  "Huh?"

  "You were asked a question."

  "Huh?"

  "I give up!" Harry exclaimed. "Ignore him. I don't think he wants anything pierced anyway. So, just me."

  "All right. Stud or ring? Gold or silver? Plain or charmed?"

  "I'd like that Griffin, if you don't mind."

  "Sure."

  The Griffin was silver and hung from a small ring. The ring was placed against his nipple, and then a muttered charm and a tap from the wizard's wand fixed the charm. It didn't hurt, but tingled. Thanking the wizard, Harry pulled his shirt back on – Draco groaned in disappointment – paid and pulled the part veela out of the shop and round the corner into an alleyway.

  "Harry…" Draco moaned, moving forward as if he couldn't help himself – which he probably couldn't – and pressing against the Gryffindor. Harry froze as he felt Draco's hard length pressing into his thigh. It was incredibly arousing, and at the same time incredibly embarrassing, however, this didn't stop Draco. The blond slid one hand around Harry's waist and cupped the other behind his head, pulling him forward into a passionate kiss.

  Harry decided to go with it. Closing his eyes he wrapped his own arms around Draco's waist and kissed back, making the blond groan in response.  He found that he was enjoying the kiss, enjoying the feel of Draco pressing against him. He didn't want it to stop, and since he was co-operating, it didn't look like Draco was going to pull away anytime soon. The alleyway had vanished, the afternoon bustle from the street only a few metres away faded into the background. Nothing mattered but the kiss and the feelings that came with it. Love, affection, caring, possessiveness, longing, lust, comradeship, belonging, happiness and the feeling that everything was right in the world. Harry stopped thinking and let himself sink into the sea of content, where there was nothing but the pair of them.

  Remus' letter, Dumbledore's advice, the book in the Library and Harry's own nature had combined to make him accept the bond between them. He had found that once he accepted what was occurring between them, he enjoyed it. More than enjoyed it, he loved it and he never wanted it to stop. If they did nothing else but continue this kiss for the rest of their lives, he would be happy.

***

  Draco had been in a battle in the piercing shop.  Human versus Veela. All his veela self wanted to do was jump Harry.  But his human self knew that that was the last thing that Harry wanted.  It was a ferocious battle, and he was never more relieved than he was when Harry pulled him out of the shop into the alley and he could do what he wanted.  He had just hoped that Harry would understand and push him away.  He had had a hard-on since the tattoo parlour, and he didn't know if he could have held on much longer.

  What had happened when he had kissed Harry was more than he could ever have hoped.  He had expected Harry to merely endure the kiss, and when Harry had actually responded to his affections, his heart had leaped and his entire body tingled. He had come home. If he died that very moment, he would die happy, knowing that Harry had finally accepted him.

  Unfortunately, the moment did not go on forever as a familiar and hated voice seeped into his consciousness, making him pull away from Harry with a gasp. He looked desperately, pleadingly, into Harry's green eyes, watching as they moved from his own to focus on something behind him, and then widen in panic.

  "Draco, darling, I don't think that's a very suitable occupation for you to be partaking of in this particular location," Narcissa Malfoy drawled.


	9. Chapter 9

cRazy-GIrl-3000 - Narcissa knew Draco was a veela, but she didn't know it was Harry. I'm in the yay zone too, but I know what happens next! I'll give you one clue. Blaise. Not gonna be m-preg, I think that they can adopt if they want kids in the future. One thing that always gets me about m-preg: Draco is the non-human, therefore shouldn't he be the one getting pregnant?! Harry's just a normal guy!

Yana5 - thanks! Glad you like it. Soz, but Harry is gonna be at least slightly punk.

WITCH WERE - a bit twisted. but still, anyone who reads/writes slash has to be slightly twisted, don't they? Lol. Glad you like it. I was going to have it hurting, but then Draco would never have got Harry to agree, so I had to have it painless. Sorry! He can get a real muggle tattoo or something later, ok? What's the betting that I'll forget that I ever said that?

FlowerPowerlol - you love it? Thanks! I am actually on chapter 10, maybe 11 by the time you read this, but my Beta is occasionally slow and needs a lot of nagging. Sorry! Only, if it's unbeta'd you get loads of spelling mistakes and stuff. Plus American grammar, despite the fact that I'm English. 

Fiery Phoenix - Love your name! Yeah, what she said was harsh, but she's the big bad, remember? I've got to make her evil!

Elven Warrior1 - I hope you liked it! J

Makalani Astral - y'what? Altercation? Why not just say argument? Lol. Confuzzled me there for a mo. Yeah, she was coming, I could see her looming in the distance with a flashing sign over her head saying 'I am a big bad bitch and I'm coming to get you, Draco!' 

Geno - Thanks! I'm glad you love it. Its always nice to know that your work is appreciated!

Moonysgurl - I can't wait to find out what happens next either! ^_^ what? I don't dictate what my subconscious tells me to write!

Gizachick - Punk Draco is the best! And I think Harry is pretty much converted, after all, he now has a tattoo and his nipple is pierced!

Some French in this chapter. I don't speak French, I did it at school for a couple of years and gave it up two years ago, so sorry for any mistakes. As for Blaise's hair, think Zack from FFVII - he happens to be my favourite character in FFVII, so he had to get in here somehow!

  "I. uh." Harry stuttered, looking from one figure to the other.  Amazingly alike and yet totally different.  Draco's silver eyes snapped to his, and the blond sent him a pleading look.

  _Hush, love.  Let me deal with this. We'll be home and dry before you know it._ Came his telepathic voice, comforting him.

  "Mother, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Draco asked coolly and calmly, turning to look her in the eye.  However, Narcissa Malfoy was no longer interested in what he had been doing.  She was looking at his clothes with an expression of absolute disgust.

  "Draco, my son, whatever are you wearing? Where did you get those horrible garments? They should be burned immediately.  A Malfoy should look presentable at all times.  I expect you to destroy them the minute we get home," she stated, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder and smoothing the pale blue of her silk robes with a languid hand.

  "I am sorry, mother, but I have to return to Hogwarts," Draco said formally, his posture stiff and guarded.

  "There are plenty of fireplaces in Hogwarts, I'm sure that hasn't changed since I studied there. But I forget myself.  Who is your companion?" Narcissa asked, her harsh voice suddenly dripping with honey.

  "Merely an acquaintance," Draco said smoothly, hoping she would drop the matter.  But inside he knew that it was futile.  He couldn't protect Harry from his mother, however hard he tried.  For whatever she did, he still loved her.  She was his mother, and he was her son. He couldn't destroy her, he couldn't turn away from her; he could only try to deceive her.  For Harry, he would go up against anyone, when he was strong.  But it was the mating season and he was vulnerable.  Wait. it was the mating season! Narcissa's mate would have to be around somewhere.  He knew enough to know that it wasn't his father.  And so, if they left, she would not be able to follow without first finding her mate.

  A desperate plan began to form in Draco's mind.  He called to Harry. _I have an idea.  She can't stay here long without her mate.  I've got the portkey in my pocket.  Slide your hand in and activate it, when I say._

_  Ok. I trust you_. Harry said simply, lowering his head and stepping closer to Draco.  He slipped his hand in Draco's jeans pocket, and found the small shape of the portkey.  He closed his fingers around it and waited, feeling the heat from Draco's thigh soak into his hand. If he wiggled his fingers slightly he could. Sometimes, life would be so much easier if his brain would just shut up, he reasoned, firmly pushing the thought away.  24 hours ago, he didn't even want to kiss the blond, and here he was with his hand in Draco's pocket, thinking about handjobs! Something was messed up with his head, he decided, resisting the urge to slide his free hand into Draco's other pocket and flex his fingers to tease the blond, pulling the Slytherin back against him at the same time... Merlin, he wished his brain would shut up!

  Meanwhile, Draco was trying to bring the conversation to a point where he could leave.

  "Merely an acquaintance? An acquaintance you were kissing in the street!"

  "Not the street, mother.  Merely an alley.  Ah, look at the time! We really must be going, mother.  I'm sorry."

  "But Draco, darling, I really need to talk to you."

  "No time, mother, sorry." _Now!_

  Harry activated the portkey, and gave into temptation slightly, slipping his other arm around Draco's waist as they were pulled back on the paths of magic towards Hogwarts.

***

 "Phew," Harry said as they landed in their room.  "That was close.  What do you think she would have done if she knew it was me you were with? Maybe loosing the glasses was a good idea after all."

  "She'll have figured it out by now. Thank the gods my clothes stalled her.  She never could bear me in anything other than the best," the blond commented, grimacing. "One of the many reasons I turned to rock."

  "What are the others?"

  Draco looked into the fire and shrugged. "I was your normal fucked up teenager.  I could loose myself in the music, play it really loud and never have to hear anyone else.  One of my favourite pastimes is reading a good book, fantasy or horror, and listening to loud rock music."

  "Don't the other Slytherin's complain? I mean, if you play it that loud. personal CD players don't work here, do they?"

  Draco looked at him strangely.  "Whatever are you talking about? I have a personal music player. You configure it to your magical signature, and then all you have to do is say or mutter the name of the band and the name of the song.  If you only do the song, you usually get the one you want, but there are exceptions, and if you just say the band you get every song they ever did in alphabetical order."

  "Woah.  Muggle music too?"

  "Yes, of course, dimwit. Hey, you know the film last night?"

  "How could I forget?"

  "Well, Legolas was damn sexy, don't you think?"

  Harry blushed. "I'm not gay.  I may be attracted you, but I am in no way gay."

  "Oh?" Draco asked, raising one eyebrow.

  "Ok, You're right.  Legolas is bloody hot," Harry admitted with a grin, his green eyes sparkling.

  Draco merely laughed. Then, as he looked into Harry's emerald eyes, he remembered something.  Even though he knew that it was probably one of those 'heat of the moment' things, he had to ask.  He had to. "Um. Harry?"

  "Mmm? Oh, and don't call me a dimwit, idiot."  
  "You know before, when I was telling you the plan?" Draco asked hesitantly, ignoring Harry's little challenge, for now.

  "Uh huh.  What about it?" Harry inquired, becoming serious as he saw that Draco was solemn now. 

  "After, you said. you trusted me. And then, just now, you said you were attracted to me.  Did."

  "Did I mean it?"

  Draco nodded.

  "Yeah.  I did.  I don't know why I said it, and I don't know why I trust you.  A part of my brain is still screaming 'He hates your guts! What the fuck are you doing, letting him kiss you!' but that part is swiftly being convinced that you aren't so bad," Harry explained, shrugging. "I don't know what the fuck is going on, I mean, your mum is some crazy bitch who would turn me over to Voldemort in an instant, but I think I'm beginning to care about you. I know you probably think I'm insane. but I do."

  After that confession, Draco was left breathless and speechless. He simply couldn't believe his ears.  It was as if he had woken up from a really good dream, only to find that the dream was true, that miracles do happen. He blinked a few times, giving his brain time to process what he had just heard. Harry was looking at him uncertainly, worried about his reaction, or lack of so far. Draco couldn't think of a single thing to say that would reassure Harry that it was ok, so he decided to trust his instincts.

  The blond leaned forward, and brushed Harry's lips lightly with his own. "You aren't insane," he murmured, pressing their foreheads together. They were so close that their breath mingled in the small space between them, and the room was so quiet that they could hear each other's hearts beating.

  "Oh, good.  I did hope that I wasn't," Harry said, grinning wryly. "I do sometimes speculate if the fact that the most illustrious dark wizard in the last few centuries wants to annihilate me will have a detrimental effect on my sanity."

  "Such big words!" Draco joked. "Are you sure your brain will be able to cope?"

  "Hey! Shut your mouth!" Harry said in mock anger, wrapping his arms around Draco's waist and pulling him closer.

  "Make me," Draco drawled suggestively.

  Harry paused.  He knew exactly what Draco meant, what Draco wanted him to do. And if they didn't kiss now, they would only have to later, so it was in Harry's best interests to kiss the part veela.  But there was more to it than that. Harry found that he wanted to kiss Draco.  He wanted to feel the other boy's lips against his, feel their bodies pressed tight together. His fingers tingled as he remembered the feel of Draco's silky blond hair, and there was a pulse of blood in his groin as he recalled the feel of Draco's slender body pressed firmly against his own. He wanted this, he discovered.  He wanted it more than anything.

  "Aw, fuck it," he muttered before leaning forward and closing the gap between them, covering Draco's soft lips with his own.

  "Language, Harry," came Dumbledore's amused voice from the armchair behind Harry.

  "Ah!" Harry yelped, starting away from Draco as if the blond was scalding hot. "Professor!"

  "Sir," Draco said, nodding and looking slightly disappointed. "It is bad manners not to introduce oneself when entering another's abode."

  "Quite so, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore allowed, nodding. "I apologize for trespassing on your private time. But I wished to know; how went your shopping trip?"

  Draco looked down.  The bags they had been carrying were strewn over the floor around their feet. "It was successful.  We had Harry's vision corrected.  But something unforeseen happened; we met my mother."

  "Oh dear. What happened?" the old wizard asked, leaning forward in his armchair and peering at the blond over the top of his half moon spectacles.

  "My clothing distracted her for long enough so that Harry could activate the portkey and get us out of there.  Mother didn't know it was Harry at the time, but I suspect that she will know now. I managed to get away without being too rude.  She caught us in a rather compromising position, one of the reasons she didn't immediately recognize Harry."

  Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, but nodded.  "All right. I'll have the house elves send your food up here at dinner time. I suppose you will not want to face the hall again?"

  "I never want to see it again," Draco muttered. "Can't I sit at the Gryffindor table?"

  "I doubt it, but I will see what I can do.  Minerva would have to agree, you see. Anyway, I will say goodnight. Goodnight!" and with that the eccentric old man vanished as silently as he arrived.

  "Phew. Thanks for dealing with that," Harry said, sighing in relief.

  "That's ok.  I know you were dreading it from the moment we realized that he was there."

  "How did you know that?" Harry asked, confused.

  "I don't know." Draco admitted, his eyes misting slightly as he tried to remember. "I just did.  Must be a veela thing."

  "Yeah.  Now, where were we?" Harry asked innocently, making Draco stare at him curiously. He merely grinned at the inquiring look. "What, I'm not allowed to be a horny teenager?"

  "Oh no, by all means carry on," Draco said quickly, stepping closer to Harry. The blond was going to make the most of Harry being accommodating! He let out a yelp as Harry scooped him up in one fluid movement - seeker reflexes - and deposited him on the sofa, gently falling on top of the blond and grinning at Draco's stunned expression.

  Draco's breath caught in his throat as Harry settled on top of him, his green eyes bright and sparking. Draco was caught in the green, like a bug in amber. He couldn't move, couldn't look away. He thought he moaned, but he wasn't sure of anything. Nothing mattered, nothing but the warm feeling that was spreading through him. He was tingling all over, and everything seemed bathed in a soft blue light. He heard Harry gasp.

  "Your eyes are glowing." the Gryffindor muttered. His voice snapped Draco out of the semi-trance.

  "What?" he questioned.

  "Your eyes are glowing blue. Seriously, they are."

  "I believe you. It's a veela thing."

  "Oh, ok. I'm hearing that a lot lately. So, whatchya wanna do?"

  "Kiss you, for a start. Then snuggle?" Draco asked hesitantly, not sure if Harry would be willing to kiss him again. But Harry's reservations had crumbled, and he had accepted the fact that he enjoyed kissing Draco. Just kissing, nothing more though!

  "Sounds ok to me. But how about some music too?" the messy haired teen suggested

  "Mmmm. I have a nice playlist on my player, and I can configure it so it plays out loud. wait a mo."

   Harry's breath caught in his throat as Draco moved his hand down between them, reaching for his pocket. Once he reached it, he wriggled his fingers around, searching for something, and inadvertently sending shivers of pleasure through the Gryffindor at the same time. Harry was now the one to moan.

  "Dray."

  "What?"

  "Hurry up, would you? Moving your hand like that is - ah! - well, I'm not sure, but my mind appears to be melting," Harry told him.

  "Oh." Draco said with a grin, wriggling his fingers and enjoying the soft, misty look that came into Harry's green eyes.

  "Dray." the Gryffindor moaned again.

  "Ok, as fun as it is to tease you, I'm taking my hand out now."

  Harry caught himself on the verge of saying don't. Instead he nodded, not trusting him own voice. He was still lying over Draco, supporting most of his weight on his arms, and they were beginning to ache a little. "Hey, Dray? Mind if we shift a bit, so we're lying on our sides? Only my arms aren't that happy."

  "Sure."  They shifted a little, so that they were lying face to face, an arm each around each other's waist. Draco reached up and placed the little round player on the arm of the sofa, then let his fingers slide into Harry's hair. "The Devil's Music," he said, watching Harry's confused look melt and understanding take its place as the music began to play.

  #Five pretty boys for ten shitty years, five girls next door, I'm up to my ears, I need a reaction, a new revolution, all over the country but they took it away.#

  "Took it Away, by A. This is the Kerrang disk four list. You know what Kerrang is, don't you?" Draco asked.

  "Yeah. Magazine.  I recognize this, they play it in shops and on the radio sometimes," Harry said, smiling.

  "I like it, but I think my favorite song has to be track four, Everything's Cool."

  #I hit the city by three and the bottle by four, I'm thinkin' 'bout the shit that I pulled the night before, and by the party at midnight, everything is cool again, 'cos you'll be back with me then.#

  "Yeah, this one's good," Harry said softly, rubbing his hand up Draco's back and smiling as the blond arched into him.

  "I'm so glad I have the good fortune to be bonding with someone who appreciates good music."

  "Don't any of your friends?"

  "Well, Blaise does. Most of the others just like seriously heavy metal, all beat and distortion and screaming. Apart from Pansy, she's a Westlife fan, among other bands."

  "Westlife? Ugh."

  "My feelings exactly."

  "So. I've been hearing a lot about this Blaise, but I don't really know that much about him. I tend to ignore you Slytherins as much as possible. You're the only one who ever really caught my eye."

  "Blaise is. he's cool. Black hair, hazel eyes, looks a bit like you, really. Only his hair is long and spiky. He's quiet half the time, brooding, then he's completely hyper and psyched up. Keep him away from coffee if you value your life. Uh. French accent. His childhood is very similar to mine. He's good for a laugh, though. We've been through a lot together, and it was either laugh or cry. We comfort each other when things get really bad."

  "Comfort?"

  "Yeah. Our relationship is friends, but we have kissed and held each other through the night before. Nothing more, so don't get jealous. It was the only way to remind ourselves that life is still beautiful."

  "I understand. I'm not jealous. I'd like to meet Blaise. I don't think I've ever really noticed him before."

  "Ok. Want me to call him?"

  "Yeah, ok. If you want to, if not, it's ok."

  "Naw, he can have dinner with us.  Now, quiet." Draco said, sitting up and hitting a button on the player. Then he reached up to his ear, and did something to the skull earring. "Blaise, mon chér? Come to the tower opposite the Gryffindor one.. Oui... No, the other direction! Go to the painting of some crazy knight called Sir Cadogan. I can't tell you. He won't let you in, you'll have to yell so I know you're there, ok? Cool. See you soon. Au revoir."

  "What was that all about?" Harry asked.

  "The earring, he has the other one. We can communicate like that. Growing up with muggles, I guess you don't know about any of this stuff, do you?"

  "No. Sounds a bit like a walkie-talkie."

  "A what?"

  "Never mind. You speak French?"

  "Fluently. I've lived there for a while. The Malfoy's were French originally. And Blaise grew up in France. I think he kept the accent partially to annoy his parents."

  "Ah, ok.  How long do you think it'll be before Blaise gets here?" 

  "About ten minutes or so. Depends on where he was."

  "Does he know about me?"

  "Um. yeah. But I don't know how he feels about it. I expect he'll be happy," Draco said hopefully.

  "Oh good. We don't want another Hermione," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

  "No," Draco agreed, leaning forward and giving Harry a quick kiss.

  "Dray?"

  "Mmm?"

  "You need more contact more often now, don't you?"

  "Gee, you think?" Draco said sarcastically.

  Harry laughed. "I just thought, what if you need something when Blaise is here?"

  "Don't worry; he'll be cool with it. We can explain it to him. Wait. will you be cool with it? I don't know how you are about displays of public affection."

  Harry grinned wryly. "For you I'll cope, if the need is desperate. Um. Dray?" he asked seriously, running a hand through his hair.

  "Uh huh?"

  "You won't need to have actual sex, will you?"

  "Not this season. I probably will in the future."

  "Merlin, don't talk to me about the future, please. I don't think I can cope," Harry said mournfully, staring at Draco pleadingly. He had always hated anything to do with the word future, and the mere mention of it would immediately kill any excitement he was feeling and replace it with dread.

  "Gods, I'm sorry," Draco said immediately, hugging Harry tightly. "I know this is a big thing for you. Trouble is, I can't see it that way, my brain just doesn't work like that."

  "It just. this is forever. There's no going back. I've never had someone to care for me before, that's new enough to me, but someone who will love me for who I am, forever? I've probably got some sort of complex about that, 'cos I find it so hard to accept. I'm living in the now, and not thinking about the future."

  "Well, let's carry on living in the now, and let the future take care of itself."

  "It's funny. I never thought I had a future."

  "What do you mean?"

  Harry shifted so that Draco was half sitting, half lying in his lap. He spoke slowly, meaning every word he said. "Well, what with Voldemort and everything, I find it hard to think beyond school. I've come very close to death before, and dying doesn't scare me any longer. I'm ok with it. Hell, I used to think I'd welcome it. Even if I did defeat Voldemort, what kind of life would I have? People would want me for being the Boy-Who-Lived, they wouldn't want me for me. But now I have you, and suddenly I don't want to die. I've never invited death, I'd never stop fighting and just say to Voldemort 'kill me', because other people would die, pay the price for me giving up. But if Voldemort did beat me, well, it didn't worry me. I'm not afraid of death. I'm afraid of fear."

  "I'm terrified of both dying and living," Draco admitted, shivering a little. "Or rather, I was.  Living doesn't seem so bad now, but home still invokes a feeling of dread. I don't ever want to go back to the manor ever again; it's my mother's kingdom and I hate it. I hate everything about it. Too many bad things have happened to me there; I wished I was dead most of the time. But I'm afraid of dying. And no matter how low I sank, Blaise was always there to pull me back up. And I would do the same for him. It used to be with just being near each other, there for each other, talking and stuff, you know? But after. well, let's just say we were both so. Oh, there aren't words to describe it. We were sunk in the mud, and there was no daylight showing. We were drowning, and all we could do was cling to each other. And the hugging turned to snuggling in each other's arms, and snuggling turned to kissing. And it was something fresh and new and untarnished. Until our parent's found out exactly how we were comforting each other when things got too much."

  Draco had tears in his eyes by this point, but he needed to get it out. Harry just held him, trying to give the blond what comfort he could. He was moving his hand up and down Draco's arm soothingly, and hugging him firmly with the other arm.

  "They just couldn't let us be, let us be happy, oh no," Draco continued, sniffing. "They had to make a whole big thing out of it. That was when Mother arranged the pensive thing. Before she had just let visitors touch me occasionally. It was like playing a role.  She would give me a portkey to somewhere, and I would wander until I found someone. The person would have been looking for me. They would take me home, bathe me, dress me, comb my hair and kiss me. I was like a plaything. Then she would take my memories and the memories of the person. The memories would be edited and stuff, so you got both points of view. Then it would be done, and I would get a new toy, a broom or something. It was bearable, until she found out about Blaise and I."

  "You don't have to, if you don't want to. You don't have to justify it, I know you couldn't help it. You were just a kid, for fuck's sake. It was harsh, but you've put it behind you. I understand about you and Blaise, and it doesn't matter to me, ok? I'll be with you whatever you've done. Don't forget it, 'cos if you forget, you'll stop being wary. But don't worry about it, don't brood about it. Don't let it haunt you," Harry said softly. He knew Draco needed some reassurance, so he placed a soft kiss on the Slytherin's cheek.

  Just then there was a call from the other side of the portrait, making Draco twist to his feet, before holding out his hand to Harry, who accepted the help offered, and pulled himself to his feet. His left leg had gone to sleep, he discovered, and he jumped on it, hoping to make the feeling return quickly.

  "Dray! Let me in!" came the shout again.

  "Coming! Wait a mo!" Draco called back, grinning at Harry, who mock glared back. "Whatever are you doing?"

  "My leg's asleep. Never mind, it's a bit better now. Let him in," Harry said, sitting in an armchair and rubbing his calf.

  "Ok. you really are as crazy as I always thought you were," Draco informed him, smirking. Harry merely winked.

  "You have no idea," he said suggestively.

  Draco opened the portrait hole and Blaise immediately jumped in, and closed the portrait quickly. Draco looked at him in astonishment.

  "Les idiots," Blaise explained. Draco nodded, and sighed.

  "Blaise, mon chér, this is Harry. Harry, this is Blaise. There, introductions over. Care to dine with us ce soir?"

  "That would be nice, merci," Blaise said, smiling. "If Harry doesn't mind?"

  "No, it's cool," Harry said, looking at the newcomer. Blaise was about as tall as Draco plus boots, making Harry the shortest person in the room (he was as tall as Draco minus boots). The French teen had jet black hair which was long and spiked up. It started in a shock of spikes and then the spikes continued down his spine, a bit like a punk lion's mane. His eyes were dark and rimmed in kohl, and his eyebrow was pierced. A skull earring, identical to Draco's, was in his ear. He was wearing an Offspring hoodie and blue jeans with a pair of worn skater trainers. Blaise raised an eyebrow at the scrutiny, but didn't seem to mind. He grinned at Draco, and threw himself on the sofa, sprawling over the cushions, and looking at the blond, daring him to make a comment.  Draco laughed, and went to pull the bell, summoning Dobby.

  When the house elf appeared, Blaise sat up suddenly. "Dobby!" he cried in astonishment.  Dobby took one look at him, and his small face lit up in a grin. 

  "Master Blaise!" he squeaked, throwing himself at the teen. "Dobby is so very, very happy to see you!"

  "Nice to see you too, Dobby. I think you were called because there's one extra for dinner. Is that ok?" Blaise asked, grinning at the elf who was squeezing his waist, and pulling up the blue baseball cap he was wearing so that he could see Dobby's face.

  "That is fine, sir," Dobby said happily, taking one arm from Blaise's waist to tug the baseball cap around so it was backwards and he could see Blaise properly. "I will be getting the other house elves to be making your favourite, sir."

  "Merci, Dobby. See you later?"

  "Yes, if there is nothing else you need, Sirs?" Dobby asked, turning to face the other occupants of the room.

  Harry and Draco shook their heads, smiling.  With a final beaming grin for Blaise, Dobby disappeared.

  "Well, Dobby seems to like you," Harry commented.

  "Yeah. Dobby's cool. Makes good hot chocolate," Blaise said casually, slouching again. Draco could see that there was something on the spiky haired teen's mind, but he knew better than to push Blaise, especially in front of Harry.

  "So I've discovered," Harry said, with a smile at Draco.

  "Ah, Dray's been educating you?"

  "You could say that."

  "Draco," Blaise said, turning to his blond friend. "How come Harry is wearing those clothes?"

  "Ah, yes! Harry, go change," Draco ordered, thinking that having Harry out of the room would be a perfect opportunity for Blaise to say what was on his mind. "We went shopping today, but at the end we met la belle marquise, and all thoughts of clothes kinda fell out of my mind," he explained.

  "Oh no!" Blaise gasped, looking horrified. "What did she say?"

  "We managed to get away intact, luckily. My clothes distracted her. It was a close call. She caught us kissing in an alley."

  Blaise now looked impressed. He whistled and gave Harry a sideways glance. "He's good, isn't he?" he asked, winking.  Harry blushed.

  "I'm. going to get changed now," he said, dashing up the stairs.  Draco and Blaise looked at each other.

  "Bit soon for that, mate," Draco said.

  "Oops! Sorry. Hey, does the Gryffindor know François?"

  "I don't know. If not, I guess we'll have to teach him."

  "I look forward to it."

  Draco looked at his friend and smiled, a thought suddenly occurring to him. "Y'know, Blaise, you are a very confusing and contradictory person."

  "How come?" Blaise asked.

  "You dress like a complete punk, yet speak half in François half in English and use sophisticated language. I do too. We must be a bit much sometimes. Our images are totally opposite to our language and speech patterns."

  "Oh, I dunno. You can get French punks, I'm sure. French upper-class punks might be a little rarer, but there you go," Blaise said, grinning. "Hey, Dray, completely changing the subject here, but I suppose you're off limits now?"

  That was what he had been worrying about, Draco realised. Well, better to let him know now rather that lead him on, so here goes. "Yeah. Sorry, mon chér, but I'm a one man sort of part-veela."

  There was silence for a minute. Then, "That was kinda a mouthful," Blaise said thoughtfully.

  Draco sighed. "Tell me about it." He looked at his hands for a second, rubbing the dark varnish, and then forced himself to meet his friend's eyes. "Look, Blaise, I'm still your friend, and if I could be there for you the way I used to be, I would. And I'm sure Harry wouldn't mind too much if I comforted you occasionally now, it's not that at all. It's the way I am, the veela bit in me. We mate for life, and we can have no other lover. That's the way it is. And I can't do anything about it, I'm so, so sorry, but I can't."

  Blaise sniffed. "It's ok. I can deal.  I always kinda hoped that if you would bond with anyone, it would be me, so we could be together forever. But I always knew that that dream was hopeless. We are amis, bon amis, who have occasionally comforted each other by unconventional methods, which were extremely enjoyable for both parties. That's all. Friends, till the end, right?"

  "Right. I'll always be there for you, Blaise. No matter what."

  Blaise looked up at Draco, his hazel eyes swimming in tears. "I know," he whispered. "I'm happy for you; you found your mate. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. It just feels like I've lost you. I know I haven't, and it's stupid to feel that way. but I do."

  "Oh, Blaise." Draco murmured, moving over to the sofa and hugging the taller boy. "You haven't lost me, you've gained Harry. Think of it like that."

  "Ok," Blaise said, sniffing and burying his face in Draco's hair, inhaling the familiar scent of his shampoo. 

  The two teens lay on the sofa, both with eyes full of tears. Harry, who had come in around about when Blaise had changed the subject, tip toed back upstairs, not wanting to disturb the two friends, who were mourning for a relationship that could never be again.

  *sniffs* Now I'm all teary too! I've been on the verge of crying all day though. It's Xmas eve, you see, and once again it has hit me that I have never spent a single Christmas with my real dad. Sad, huh? But I wrote him and my Step-Mum and Step-Sis and Step-Bro (and the cats!) a letter this morning and it got me all teary, and now this ending has done the same! I need to do something cheerful. I know! I'll go try to find my Christmas stocking.  Now. where is it??

[and that note tells you how long my lovely Beta's spent with this fic!! I didn't read it through when I got it back, I want to get it posted right away, so I hope they didn't do anything too drastic to it.]


	10. Chapter 10

Harry sat on the stairs, wearing a dark blue shirt with a silver dragon on the back - Draco's choice - and faded blue baggy jeans with doc martins. He didn't want to interrupt the two friends on the sofa, but soon Draco went as white as snow and moaned.

  "Draco? What's wrong?" Blaise asked, panicking, "Dray, talk to me, man!"

  "Harry." Draco managed to gasp , closing his eyes as he did so and going limp.

  "Shit! Potter! Harry!" Blaise called, terrified.  Harry leapt down the stairs and darted over to Draco, shoving Blaise out of the way as he did so. He gripped Draco's hand tightly and ran the fingers of his free hand through Draco's platinum hair, but it didn't seem to work.

  There was nothing for it. Harry glanced at Blaise, who was staring at the still form of his friend in shock, before leaning down and kissing Draco full on the lips. After a few seconds he drew away and watched with a fond smile as Draco's silver-blue eyes opened.

  "You ok, love?" he asked softly.

  Draco's eyes widened. "Love?" he repeated shakily.

  Harry's stiffened in shock and he stuttered incoherently. "I.. uh. um. I. well. er."

  "Hey, it's ok! Its ok, Harry," Draco said soothingly.

  "I didn't mean it like that, exactly. At least I don't think I did. I'm not sure. Uh, can we have dinner now?" Harry asked, turning red.

  Draco smiled at him. "Sure we can. Blaise?"

  "Yeah, I'm hungry. And here's food."

  "Huh?" Harry asked, staring in astonishment at the table that had suddenly appeared at one edge of the room, laden with plates and plates of food. Blaise cheered.

  "Roast Potatoes! Good old Dobby!"

  Draco sat up slowly, blinking. "Well, he did say he was making your favourite," he murmured softly.  Harry helped him up with an arm around his waist, and they made their way to the table together. Blaise was already sitting down, piling roast potatoes, roast chicken, peas and carrots onto his plate. He topped the plate off with gravy, and then looked at Draco questioningly.

  "Go on, bon appetite," Draco said, smiling.  Blaise grinned, and began to eat.

  Harry served Draco a bit of everything, and himself the same. They began to eat, with less relish than Blaise, but they were hungry and lunch seemed a long time ago now. Blaise and Draco chatted, sometimes in English, sometimes in French, while Harry listened.

  "Are you sure you don't feel left out?" Draco asked, concerned.  But Harry simply grinned.

  "I like watching you two. Carry on. I don't mind."

  "Well, if you're sure."

  "I'm sure."

  After dinner, Blaise got ready to leave. He hugged Draco quickly goodbye, and muttered in his ear, "Voulez vous couché avec Harry, ce soir?"

  "Blaise!" Draco cried in mock horror, pretending to be scandalized. He dropped the act after a moment, and grinned, shoving his friend towards the exit. "Leave, now.  And. oui."

  "I knew it!" Blaise had time to exult, before Draco shut the portrait.

  "He knew what?" Harry asked.

  "Never mind. Come on, I'm sleepy. Lets go to bed."

  Harry looked at him suspiciously, but let himself be pulled up the stairs. Once they were in the bedroom, Draco turned round and kissed him, full on the lips.

  "I thought you said you were sleepy?" Harry asked, cocking an eyebrow as Draco pulled away.

  "I need a shower," Draco explained. "And I'm not sure how long I could hold on, so I thought I'd better kiss you."

  Harry looked thoughtful, and worried. "You won't be able to hold on."

  "I will," Draco assured him, although he wasn't too sure of the answer himself.

  "No, you won't. Look, I'll have a shower with you."

  Draco managed to look relieved, anxious and worried at the same time. "Are you sure?" he questioned.  Harry had never been less sure in his life, but he nodded anyway. Draco looked like he was going to protest, so Harry leaned forward and briefly kissed him on the cheek.

  "I order you to allow me to have a shower with you," he said softly, looking into Draco's eyes.

  "No fair, you know I can't disobey you," Draco complained, pouting.

  "That's why I said it. I don't like controlling you like this, but it's for your own good; you'd never survive a shower on your own, and I need one too anyway," Harry said finally. "Now, go get the towels and I'll start the water."

  "Yes, boss," Draco said sarcastically, the twinkle in his eyes taking away the sting of his words.

  A short while later Harry was in the shower, getting the water just right. He's discovered that there were about five jets, so water came at you from all sides. That would be useful; it meant that no-one was going to freeze because only half their body was under the spray. He whipped round when he heard the door open.

  "Harry?" came Draco's voice, accompanied by a soft thump as the blond dropped a heap of towels on the floor.

  "Yeah?"

  "Oh, you started already?"

  "Naw, I'm fiddling with the water. I think I've got it now. Are you coming in?"

  "Uh, yes."

  "Why the 'uh'? Are you worried?"

  "Yes," Draco whispered. Harry could barely hear him over the water.

  "Why?"

  "I'm scared that I'll do something I'll regret."

  "Like?"

  "Use your imagination." Draco said grumpily, unbuttoning his shirt.

  Harry paused for a minute, making up his mind. "Its ok, I won't mind," he told his partner.

  "But what if you do?" Draco asked, working himself into a state. He was standing in just his boxers, and the room was cold, despite the steam wreathing through the air. The idea of a hot shower had never been more welcoming. And the glimpses of Harry he could see through the misted, frosted glass were enticing. but he didn't want to scare Harry.

  "I can hear you tying yourself in knots, you know," Harry commented.

  "What?" Draco asked, startled.

  "Come on in here, now, before you freeze. Right now, Draco Malfoy."

  Draco hesitantly moved to the door, and slipped in. He tried his hardest not to look at Harry, but the dark haired Gryffindor had other ideas. Standing firmly in front of the blond, he took his chin in a strong hand and turned the part-Veela's face to look at him. The wondering, admiring look in the green eyes took Draco's breath away.

  "You're beautiful," Harry breathed, leaning forward and capturing Draco's lips in a soft kiss. Both boys moaned at the contact, and pressed together, the water heightening the sensation of skin sliding on skin. Harry managed to keep his mind from melting, enough to at least think partially straight. He reached out behind Draco for the shower gel.

  The first thing Draco knew was warm, slick hands running down his back. He gasped, and arched into Harry, pressing their bodies together intimately.

  "Turn around," Harry muttered.

  "What?" Draco asked, slightly worried as to what Harry meant. He knew he had a dirty mind, but still.

  "You're all tense, after meeting Narcissa and telling Blaise. I'm going to massage your shoulders and back. Now, turn around," Harry explained.

  "Ok," Draco said, willingly turning and presenting Harry with his smooth back. Harry squirted more gel onto his hands and rubbed up, from the base of Draco's spine to his neck, pressing his thumbs in firmly each side of Draco's spine and spreading his fingers. He repeated this action several times, rubbing some of the knots out of Draco's back, before placing his hands, fingers splayed, on Draco's shoulders and massaging firmly. Draco sighed, and arched his back as Harry's skilled fingers soothed his tense muscles. He moaned as Harry's thumb caressed a spot just behind his ear, and Harry grinned, marking the reaction. He would have to remember that one. The foam covered Draco's back, partially masking the dragon tattoo emblazoned across it. Flicking his eyes down, he was surprised to see how far down the tattoo actually went. he would only be able to see the tip of the tail if Draco was in rather a compromising position.

  Once Harry had finished on the serious massaging, he began to run his foam-covered hands over Draco's pale body in exploration. Draco, sensing that the massage was over, leaned back against his future mate, tilting his head and stealing a kiss. Harry ran one finger in lazy circles over the blond's flat stomach as the other hand slid up and found Draco's nipple. Draco shivered at the contact and bit Harry's lip, then soothed the small hurt with his tongue.

  This action excited Harry more than he cared to admit, but Draco knew anyway, as the reaction was currently pressing into his lower back.

  "Like that?" He murmured teasingly, shifting his hips and hearing Harry's breathy gasp in his ear. He didn't have to see Harry to know that the other boy was blushing. "I love the sounds you make, I want to hear you moan." he whispered seductively, turning in Harry's embrace and pushing the other seeker against the magically heated shower wall. It was his turn to reach for the shower gel.

  Rubbing the red liquid over his hands, creating a pure white lather, startled him more than he cared to admit. He had expected the foam to be pink or orange, not white. It was as if the 'blood' that covered his hands had been turned into something good, cleansed. But he saved those thoughts up for later. Now there was a naked Harry Potter staring at him with wide green eyes as his breath came in short gasps and the steaming water beat over the two of them.

  He leaned forward and nibbled on Harry's lower lip as he ran his hands over Harry's torso. The teen was slim but muscular, toned through hours of Quidditch, and yet his skin was soft. Draco placed a line of kisses along Harry's cheek and neck, sometimes just using his lips, sometimes licking, and sometimes nipping with his teeth. His fingers found the nipple ring, and he smiled at the gasp that sounded in his ear when he fiddled with it.

  Harry had one hand tangled in blond hair, the other sweeping up and down Draco's back. It hesitated for a second, before reaching down and pressing over Draco's arse, making the Slytherin press against Harry tightly, and bringing their erections into contact with each other.

  "Draco!" Harry gasped. Draco bit down on his shoulder in response, and began to rub against Harry.

  "Woah, Dray, hold on," Harry managed to gasp.

  Draco stopped moving, and pulled away slightly. "What?" he asked, confused and concerned.

  "Too fast," Harry said, panting for breath. "It was nice and all, but too fast."

  "Sorry," Draco said, blushing and looking away. Even with the heat of the water, he felt suddenly cold without Harry's warm skin against his own.

  Harry stepped closer and once again tilted up his chin. "I didn't mean it like that," he said softly, green eyes radiating love and comfort. "But it's too soon. We should wait a little. C'mon, I'll wash your hair."

  "Ok," Draco said meekly. And after a pause, "Sorry."

  Harry was massaging the gel into Draco's hair and trying not to get it in his eyes. "Don't be, s'not your fault. Tilt your head back, or this'll go in those lovely silver eyes of yours."

  Draco did so and Harry manipulated one of the shower heads to wash away the white foam from Draco's blond head.

~*~

  A short while later, Draco was lying flat on his back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Harry came back from brushing his teeth and smiled fondly at the teen wearing nothing but boxers and gazing pensively at nothing.

  He clambered onto the bed, and stroked his fingers through Draco's soft hair. "What are you thinking?" he asked softly.

  "Love is a mutt from hell that I can't live without," Draco said sulkily, pouting slightly.

  "What?"

  "Never mind."

  "Seriously, what?"

  "Its from a song."

  "Oh." Harry said, sliding into the bed. "Who by?"

  "Wheatus."

  "Can I hear it?"

  "Can't it wait 'till morning?"

  "No. What is with you? I'm trying to understand you a bit here, and you're just blowing me off. At least I'm making an effort. Its not like I asked to be your ideal soulmate intended person," Harry said, beginning to get annoyed by Draco's apathy. Draco gave him a 'look' and grabbed his wand. 

  "Accio!" he said, and the music player flew in from the bathroom. "Wheatus, Love is a Mutt from Hell," he said clearly, before tossing it to Harry, who caught it with a seekers precision.

This is a story about a friend of mine; he is abnormally intelligent; he could burst a phatty rhyme, even when he got up in the blunt; but that all changed when the girl who he lives with came to town, he let her take him away from me so I had to ask him how; that when he said, "She takes advantage of me! She takes advantage of me! She takes advantage of me! She takes advantage of me! She even knows when I pee! I think eventually she'll make a meal out of me!"

Chorus

Because her love is a mutt from hell that I can't live without;

Your love is a mutt from hell that I can't live without; one of these days I swear I'm gonna get out; 'till then your love is a mutt from hell that I can't live without. That's why I'm talking to you now.

Sarah lives with Bradley now, I guess that's how she wants her shit; he needed a place to stay, so it's of mutual benefit; I stopped by on my way to Pomona yesterday; she sat down and spilled her guts to me; that's when I thought she would tell me she's gay; instead she said, "He takes advantage of me! He takes advantage of me! He takes advantage of me! He takes advantage of me! He even knows when I pee! I think eventually he'll make a meal out of me!"

Chorus

That's why I'm talking to you now; talking to; that's why I'm talking to, that's why I'm talking to, talking to; that's why I'm talking to, that's why I'm talking, talking, talking to you now!

Chorus

That's why I'm talking to you now; That's why I'm talking to you now; That's why I'm talking to That's why I'm talking to you now; That's why I'm talking to you now; 

(the word 'talking' now makes no sense and looks all wrong. Ah, well. ED)

 They were silent for a minute after the song ended, then Draco said,

  "Sorry."

  Harry didn't respond, still angry at the way Draco had snubbed him. The part-veela was the reason he was doing this after all. He was the only thing keeping Draco sane, so the blond Slytherin might as well be courteous about it!

  "Harry, I really am. I was. it was stupid, and rude of me. I guess I was beginning to take you for granted, to forget all that you've done for me, and all that you're doing. I'm sorry. I won't treat you like that again. I was. a bit frustrated, I guess," he confessed, blushing. "I wanted to carry on, in the shower. Um. sorry. Its not a good excuse, I know. I really am grateful, for you staying with me and everything."

  "Lets just go to sleep," Harry said, a little coldly, and rolled over. Draco shivered, and tried to snuggle under the covers, but he knew that they would not warm him up; nothing would but Harry's touch, but he didn't dare reach out to the other teen, however much he longed to do so. He rolled over and clasped his hands firmly together.

  But for all his trying, he couldn't stop shivering, or hold back a whimper. It was so cold.

~*~

  Harry was angry. All he had tried to do was get inside Draco's head a little, try to see what made the blond the way he was, see why he did the things he did so he could understand him better, and know what he needed, when he was upset for example. He hadn't expected Draco to completely blow him off. It had seemed that he was returning to the old Malfoy, not the Draco that Harry had come to know and like. All of Harry's doubts, that his mind had pushed firmly away, began to rise to the surface.

  He had been thinking that it had been too good to last.

  But after a few long moments of doubt, he remembered Blaise. Remembered how he had interacted with Draco, how easy and flowing their conversation in two tongues had been. How familiar they had been with each other. How they had laughed at old jokes, so wrapped up in each other that they had sometimes seemed to forget Harry completely; they were so wrapped up in their own little world. Harry didn't know Blaise, but from what he had heard, Blaise Zabini was one of the most easygoing and yet secretive Slytherins in the current house. Everybody knew _of_ him, but hardly anyone knew _him_. He didn't seem the sort of guy to open up to just anyone; anything private or personal that dinner had been said in French, and Harry only knew it was private or personal because of the tone. Also, he had not given any secrets away during the conversation, yet managed to be completely at home and not at all on his guard.

  Harry also remembered the conversation the pair had shared on the sofa. There was obviously a deep bond between the two, a good, solid friendship that the 'almost-relationship' on the side had done nothing to spoil. No-one truly evil had ever had such an open friendship as that, Harry was sure. So.

 "Dray?" Harry asked, rolling over and looking at the blond, whose shoulders were shaking. "Oh, Gods, Draco!" he gasped, worried. The ebon-haired Gryffindor scooted over in the bed and spooned up behind Draco without a second thought, wrapping his arms around the shivering teen. After a few minutes the shivering stopped and Draco dropped into a calm and peaceful sleep.

  Harry lay awake a little longer, thinking, but soon he too surrendered to the deep calm depths of slumber.

Short, I know. I have Exams coming up, and all my coursework appears to be due at once! Plus I've been ill, so I was banned from the computer for a week. I'm not finishing this story yet! However, there may be longer gaps, cos the teachers say that coursework's gotta come first!


	11. Chapter 11

Makalani Astral – yeah, too soon for Harry, not soon enough for Draco! Lol. Poor Draco. I feel sorry for him… he should have picked Blaise; his life would be much easier! I will write more asap, only I'm up to my eyebrows in coursework at the moment… half term is soon, hopefully I'll get time for more writing then…

Yana5 – Draco was all 'can't it wait till morning' kinda grumpy with Harry, and he pissed off the gorgeous Gryffindor, unfortunately. If you read the 1st paragraph from Harry's POV after the song, you'll understand. The next chapter is out when I write it! Glad you still like it, even with the wait…

Tasan15 – you're new! *grins in happiness at new reviewer* glad you love it! The cedilla thing? Oh, you mean é? Go to Insert, then Symbols, and it's in there. At least, I think that's what you mean. Harry wasn't being too much of a prat, it was just a little too quick for him, and then Draco was a bit of a basterd. Lol. I'll make them sweeter this chapter… Attack of the Narcissa! 

Driven to Insanity – I'm writing! Thanks, I'm trying to make it as original as poss!

cRazy-GIrl-3000 – I won't forget you! Promise! Yeah, Dray can look good in anything, and I thought punk would be good, what with the rep we have for hating parents! Plus, I can just seem him looking so sexy in leather! Thanks for the sympathy over the exams!

Insanechildfanfic – thank you!

Benjis VIP – thank you! I'm glad you like it. I have tried to make it as original as possible!

Karenelaine – wow! That's given me a great idea! Hey, you ever think of becoming a muse? Seriously, thanks, I owe you. Now…. How can I make that happen… *goes off muttering*

Bonnie4 – thanks!

Relle – woah! Long… thanks! That has to be the best review I've had for a while… As for English, well, I'm currently on A*, so I guess all the writing must be paying off! Or maybe it's just a case of having a great English teacher you can actually talk to, who lets you watch movies all the time. (media is such a great subject) Anyhow, thanks again! I'll defiantly use that prank… lol. You know, you have to be one of the nicest reviewers, saying that the punk thing was your problem, not mine. Most people would have stuck with 'I don't like punk, but I guess it works here'. Goddess, this reply is getting as long as your review! Guess I'd better sign off. I don't remember your name, I read so many fics… I'll have to go check now!

Jerrica – I didn't mean it like that! Goddess, you've got a dirtier mind than me, and I didn't think that was possible! (ok… everyone's gonna try to prove me wrong there, aren't you? Ah, well…) No, I didn't mean it like that, but now you mention it… lol.

Enter… Snape! Sorry, I left him out before, he kinda slipped my mind… 

  The next day was a Sunday, and most students were having a lie in, which was probably a blessing, Harry thought wryly, judging by the reaction of the school on Friday. They managed to eat in the Hall, both sitting at the Gryffindor table and disregarding what rules there were about that, without too much trouble. Pansy Parkinson was the only Slytherin awake, and although there were a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, they mostly ignored the pair.

  The duo didn't notice the brown haired witch standing at the side of the hall. Hermione pointed her wand at Harry, and muttered a charm. Harry took on a faint gold glow for a second, not bright enough to be noticeable to anyone who was not searching for it. Hermione frowned; Harry was not under a spell or enchantment. Looking over at the blond witch at the Slytherin table, she shook her head. Parkinson shrugged, and chewed on another forkful of baked beans. That exchange over, Hermione left the hall. She'd better wake Ron, or he would sleep until noon.

   After breakfast, Harry and Draco headed to Dumbledore's office to talk with him; they were worried about what Narcissa might do. Once they got to the gargoyle, Harry asked a portrait of a centaur to go up and tell Dumbledore that they wanted to see him.

  Draco was gripping Harry's hand tightly, looking at him all the time to reassure himself that the Gryffindor was there. Harry, noticing this, pulled him into a warm hug.

  "It'll be ok," he murmured in Draco's ear. "I'm here."

  Draco pressed a soft kiss to Harry's cheek, and then turned back to the Gargoyle. "Thanks. Merlin, this fellow is ugly."

  "Yeah, I always wondered why he picked that one. It always reminded me of Parkinson."

  "Well, the resemblance is striking…" Draco joked. 

  The Gargoyle sprang aside, revealing the familiar winding staircase. Harry had always wondered how many people knew that it was based on a muggle escalator. They walked up, making the top in half the time it took normally. Draco pulled Harry in for a kiss before they entered, not sure how long they were going to be in there for.

  Dumbledore was seated at his desk, silver hair spilling over maroon robes. Harry smiled as he imagined Ron's reaction to the colour. "Good morning, Sir," he said politely.

  "Good morning, please take a seat. Are things… well… between you?"

  "Fine, thanks. Its about the shopping trip yesterday…"

  "Hmmm?" Dumbledore asked, looking at the pair over his half moon glasses.

  "AS we said yesterday, we met Narcissa Malfoy."

  "Ah. How did it go exactly? You were too tired last night. I gather from the fact that you are both alive and unharmed that it was not too bad?"

  "Mother wasn't very happy; I sort of blew her off a bit," Draco said dully. "I had to get Harry out of there. I _had_  to."

  "Its alright, Draco, I understand," Dumbledore said soothingly. Draco was gripping Harry's hand tightly, and the Gryffindor could feel him shaking.

  _Harry…_ Came his telepathical voice, _I need you. I need you now!_

  Harry shot a glance at Dumbledore, who winked at him, before turning his attention to the window and humming loudly. Taking that as permission, Harry wrapped his arms tightly around Draco and kissed him gently. 

  However, Draco had other ideas. Harry's gasp of surprise was muffled when Draco's tongue stabbed urgently into his mouth, his groan when Draco's hand slid under his robes likewise muffled by urgent lips. Draco traced his fingers along Harry's flat stomach, feeling the firm muscles shiver at the delicate touch.  He wanted, needed, Harry to respond to him, and whimpered when the Gryffindor pulled away.

  "Sir?" Harry asked, breathing quickly. "I think we need some time alone."

  "You can go into the back room. I want you back out when Draco is stable again, not before, or Poppy will have my head on a plate."

  "Ok, Sir. Thank you," Harry said, tugging Draco to his feet and yanking the blond into the back room. Before he had even closed the door properly – luckily it shut by itself – he found himself being shoved backwards onto a sofa and a slim body wriggling delightfully on top of his. Draco's lips found his own, and the passionate kiss was resumed where it had been left off.

  The next thing Harry knew, his robes were being pushed off his shoulders and deft fingers were unbuttoning his shirt. Then Draco's mouth left his and a wet tongue swirled around his nipple, catching on the charm and swinging it round too. The sensation shot through the ebon-haired Gryffindor, making him clutch at the blond, digging his nails into Draco's back.

  ~Fuck, yes~

  Draco raised his head, the sound breaking through his frenzied subconscious. Now he had Harry half naked under him, the veela in him was a lot calmer; it was where his mate was supposed to be, after all. "Did you just swear in parseltongue?" he asked, gazing into Harry's lust-darkened green eyes.

  Harry blushed. "Yes."

  "What did you say?" Draco asked, curious.

  "Um, Fuck, yes, pretty much. Are you ok now?"

  "Should be. Um…."

  "What? If you aren't, well, Dumbledore said don't come out 'till you are."

  "Um… can you sit in my lap or something when we're in there? That'll help."

  "Uh, ok."

  They disentangled themselves, and got to their feet. As they were about to open the door, Dumbledore poked his head round. His blue eyes looked very serious and he looked at them sternly.

  "On your lives, stay in here; I have just been informed that Narcissa is at the gargoyle. You can talk, this room has silencing charms on it, but do not go near the door, or the window. I don't know how long this will take. If the worst comes to the worst, there are chocolate éclairs in the cupboard."

  With that said, he closed the door, and they could hear him humming again. After listening for a minute, Harry grinned.

  "He's humming Blink 182, Online Songs."

  "Huh?" Draco asked, digging his played out of his pocket. Blink 182, online songs."

Josie, you're my, source of most frustration

Forget, when I, don't meet expectations

Everything you wished came true

In the end we all blamed you

Even though as they all know you weren't the only one two three four

Why do you still keep it around when you know it brings me down

I'm hating everything

And I know that you dated other guys but it got to wonder why you'd leave it out for me

Why am I still hanging around when I know it brings me down

I'm hating everything

And you are getting rides home in his car you're making out in his front yard 

I'm hating everything

Please don't remind me

Put you're past behind me

It shines so bright it blinds me

I wish that it would end

Am I am not fine

Last night I saw you online

Your screen name used to be mine

Why can't we just pretend

  "_Dumbledore??_" Draco asked incredulously.

  "Apparently so. Are you ok now?"

  "I could do with another kiss."

  "Ok," Harry said, stepping forward and kissing him.

  "Harry, did you know that gullible's been taken out of the dictionary?" Draco deadpanned.

  "Hey!" Harry grinned. Charging at the smirking Slytherin, he pushed the blond backwards onto the sofa, falling on top of him and pinning him. "Take that back!"

  "Make me!"

  Harry grinned. Slytherins weren't the only house able to be sneaky. "I think we have been in this position before…" he murmured seductively, leaning forward and letting his breath ghost over Draco's cheek and feeling the answering tremble from the blond. "Take it back…"

  "No," Draco gasped, twisting under him.

  "Take it back, Malfoy…"

  The use of his surname, spoken in such a seductive manner, shot straight to Draco's groin. "I take back everything, only touch me now!" he practically screamed.

  Harry grinned. "Your wish is my command."

  Swift fingers unbuttoned Draco's shirt, pulling the fabric aside to reveal Draco's smooth chest. Keeping Draco's legs pinned with his own, and holding both of his wrists over his head, Harry bent his head and kissed Draco's nipple gently, before taking it between his teeth and biting down gently, before soothing the small hurt with his tongue, and then blowing on the tight bud. He then moved and bestowed the same treatment on the other nipple. Next he kissed and licked his way to Draco's navel, swirling his tongue around inside it before making his way back up again.

  "Harry, please?"

  "What?" the Gryffindor asked, raising his head.

  "Release my wrists, let me touch you."

  Harry smirked. "Ah, but I thought you begged me to touch _you_. I am merely doing what I was asked to do."

  "But…"

  "No buts. You're shaky, you need this. And besides, I'm enjoying myself," Harry admitted, tracing a line of kisses up Draco's jaw.

  "Really?"

  "Really."

  "Well, if you're really ok with this…"

  "I am."

  "I've been shaky since last night, and I'm sorry, but I think the only cure this time is going to be… well, you know."

  Harry stopped his kisses, and looked into Draco's worried silver eyes. He smiled reassuringly. "I know. And I'm willing. I've been doing some thinking since last night. Now, hush your talking; I want to hear you moaning."

Just to be annoying, I'm not posting the lemony bit on ff.net. when I write it, it can be found at www.darkside.freeuk.com, in the fanfiction section. Mwahahaha! Actually, I don't want this story banned or anything, so I'm not risking any complaints.

  Dumbledore was seated at his desk when his door was slammed open dramatically, and a tall figure swathed in a luxurious red velvet robe walked seductively into the room.

  "Dumbledore, where is my son?" Narcissa Malfoy drawled.

  "In bed, I imagine," Dumbledore said reasonably. "Sunday is a lovely day to have a lie-in, after all. Peppermint?"

  "No, thank you. Draco is not in his dormitory; I saw Vincent and Gregory on the way up here. They said that they haven't seen Draco in the dorm for a few days, and when he came to a meal on Friday, he left in the company of Potter. Would this Potter be Harry Potter?"

  "There is only one Potter in Hogwarts at the moment."

  "I insist on having an explanation," Narcissa said, narrowing her eyes.

  "Well, it appears that your son has come into his inheritance. The Veela gene that he inherited from you has awoken, and he has chosen a mate."

  "Ah," Narcissa drawled. "And who is that mate?"

  "Why, it appears to be Harry Potter."

  "Potter?! My son is mated to the despicable Boy-Who-Lived?" Narcissa shrieked. The glass in the windows trembled, and many of the portraits of old headmasters on Dumbledore's walls looked uncomfortable.

  "May I remind you, Mrs. Malfoy, that you can do nothing. It is Draco's will, and he will attack if you try to harm his mate," Dumbledore stated calmly.

  "I know more than you about Veela!" Narcissa screeched. "And there are ways and means, you old coot! Draco is my heir, and therefore answers to me, and me alone!"

  "Ah, actually, Mrs. Malfoy, while he is on school premises he is under my charge, and he has rights of his own, of course."

  Narcissa snorted, and tossed her white-blond hair. "We shall see," was all she said as she swept out of the room.

  Dumbledore looked after her, blue eyes twinkling. "Ah, we shall see indeed."

  The old headmaster next regarded the door. "I think I shall avoid that room for the next half hour, judging by the look in Master Malfoy's eyes before he was dragged in," he mumbled to himself, leaning back in his chair and sucking on a peppermint.

 A good half hour later, he knocked on the door, waited a few seconds, then opened it to see two flushed and ruffled boys sitting holding hands on the sofa. Blue eyes twinkling, he smiled at them.

  "I trust the wait was not too long?"

  "Oh no, not at all, Sir," Harry replied quickly, blushing.

  "Good. Now, as Draco demonstrated earlier, he can no longer hold on well without you, and you would be a disruptable influence in any class. Therefore, I am going to take you out of lessons. Instead, teachers will come to your rooms during their free periods, and the rest of the time you will also stay there."

  "What about meals?" Harry asked.

  "Meals will be sent up, unless you feel that you are able to cope with the hall. Draco, you may sit at the Gryffindor table, and Harry, I have managed to… persuade… Professor Snape to let you sit at the Slytherin table, so you have free choice. Now, back to your rooms, please. Professor Snape will be coming this morning to teach you potions. I will have the house elves set up a miniature lab in the study. Now, off you go!"

   The unlikely pair grinned at each other, and dashed out of the study, hand in hand.

  Narcissa Malfoy was annoyed. She strode down the corridors of Hogwarts looking neither right nor left, students scattering out of her way. Apart from one, who stepped in her path. Narcissa screeched to a halt and glared at the impudent young wizard who had dared to inconvenience her.

  "Mrs. Malfoy?" the blond asked. Narcissa blinked in recognition.

  "Pansy Parkinson?"

  "Yes. Madam, if it's not too much trouble, I would like to speak with you."

  Narcissa looked at the girl calculatingly. She didn't shift under the glare… _interesting…_ "All right. Where do you wish to talk?"

  "Follow me, please."

  The older woman followed the student down a corridor and into an empty classroom. "All right, what is this about?" Narcissa asked as soon as Pansy closed the door.

  "Draco Malfoy, who else?"

  "And what exactly about my son?"

  "His current relationship with Mr. Potter. A… colleague… and myself, have managed to discover that it does indeed seem to be a genuine bond, that is, Potter is not under an enchantment, and being who he is, it is therefore unlikely that he had coerced Draco into the relationship. Indeed, 

Potter seems the less comfortable of the two."

  "That would make sense, if it is indeed the veela bond." 

  Narcissa was shifting slightly, and often seemed distant, focused on something else. "Mrs. Malfoy? Is anything wrong?" Pansy asked.

  Narcissa shook her head. "No, I am just missing _my _mate. No matter, I can hold out for now, and I will be with her soon. What exactly do you hope to accomplish?"

  "The breaking of the bond, somehow, in a way which will not involve Draco's death."

  "Is there such a way?"

  "I was hoping you could tell me."

  "Hm. I will look in the Library at Malfoy mansion. You can carry on here."

  Narcissa swept out of the room, leaving behind an impression of beauty and a scent of expensive perfume. Pansy took a deep breath, and slumped slightly. After waiting until she was sure that Narcissa was out of sight, she slipped from the empty classroom and headed back to the dungeons.

  After getting past Sir Cadogan – "I know I forgot to ask Dumbledore something!" Harry groaned – they sprawled on the sofa with their potions books and lazily read up what they had been scheduled to do next lesson.

  Harry lay with his head in Draco's lap and his feet up on the armrest of the sofa. Draco was stroking his hair, playing with the messy locks, and he found it surprisingly soothing.

  "Arrowroot, unicorn blood, ground ginger, _doxy droppings_??" Draco read aloud. "Aren't they illegal?"

  "Class C non-tradable substance," Harry said absently.

  "How do you know that?"

  "Fred and George."

  "The Weasley twins?"

  "Yeah. We were decontaminating-" Harry cut of what he was going to say. Revealing the secret headquarters of the Order to the son of Voldemort's right hand probably wasn't the best thing to do.

  "Where?"

  "Doesn't matter. No place important."

  "It must be, otherwise you'd tell me."

  Luckily for Harry, Professor Snape chose that moment to come though the door, in all his greasy, long nosed splendor. Draco jumped up with a smile. "Professor Snape!"

  Surprisingly enough, Snape smiled back. "Draco." He turned to Harry, and frowned. "Potter."

  "Sir, you have to be nice to Harry now. He's my mate. And I might just get very annoyed with you if you're rude to him," Draco admonished.

  "All right, all right. Now, I trust you've been studying?" they nodded. "Good. Where has the lab been set up?"

  "In the study," Draco said, grabbing Harry's hand, and walking towards it. "This way, Sir."

Sorry again for the wait! I've got my exams in 4 weeks, so I'm kinda panicking. Plus, I've been working on College Crush – an original story I'm hoping to get published some time (look out for it in the shops in about 10 years!). So, CiL kinda got pushed to the back. I am still carrying on with it tho! Please review, and don't be too mad at me!


	12. Chapter 12

Author's note and review replies at bottom.

Snape looked around the study and sneered. "All right, the house elves appear to have remembered everything. You will be working on the draught of living death, so please do not screw it up, Potter! You may begin."

Harry began chopping his arrowroot, and hoped that he would not screw up too badly. The draught of living death was not something you wanted to screw up. Draco was working quietly next to him, occasionally reaching for his hand, or leaning against him for a brief moment. Snape was also quiet, marking some essays that he had given the second years for homework.

After they added the arrowroot to the spring water gently simmering, Draco had to grab out and stop Harry from disastrously adding too much ground ginger. The ginger was added whole, and only acted as a sort of catalyst, but too much could cause the potion to explode. Draco said as much, mentally to Harry, who grinned ruefully in response.

_Sorry, didn't remember._

_ Silly idiot, _Draco replied affectionately, pulling him around for a quick kiss. _Time for the wormwood._

They sliced the long, wriggling roots, and Harry copied Draco in sprinkling them clockwise around the cauldron.

"Very good," Snape's smooth voice interrupted. "I'm glad to see that Potter seems to have learnt something from being partnered with you, Draco. Time to add the asphodel."

They reached for the container at the same time, and smiled as their fingers brushed. From behind them, Snape made a sound which could be interpreted as a snort. Harry could sense that Draco was trying to hold back laughter, so he bumped him gently with a shoulder. Draco retaliated with an elbow to Harry's side. It could have gone further, but Snape coughed meaningfully, so they turned their attention to the asphodel, which had to be ground into a powder.

All was going to plan, until Dobby appeared between the cauldrons with a crack. He made the two teens jump, Snape shout in annoyance, and the contents of Draco's cauldron hit Harry square in the face. The Gryffindor immediately topped over backwards, his face deathly pale.

Draco screamed, and fell to his knees beside his chosen mate. "Nooo!!!" the part-veela wailed, not noticing that the potion that had splashed onto the desk was dripping through several heaps of spare ingredients and into his hair, staining it a vivid pink.

Snape swore, and ordered the distraught Dobby to fetch Madam Pomfrey. He managed to organize Draco for long enough to get both teens into the main room, and Harry on the sofa, before Draco also collapsed, gripping Harry's chilled hand and sobbing.

"No, no, what will I do without you? It's so cold, and dark, and you're not there to hold back the demons any more…"

Snape knelt down at the weeping blond with a surprising look of concern and compassion on his sallow face. He put a comforting hand on Draco's shoulder, and whispered, "It will be all right, my Dragon. Be strong, Harry will be fine. He'll recover, and everything will be back as it was. The fates would not let one who is destined to destroy the Dark Lord die because of a misplaced potion."

If Harry had been awake, he would have marveled, not only at the empathetic speech, but also at the use of his true name.

Madame Pomfrey barreled into the room, followed by a concerned looking Professor Dumbledore.

"What happened?!" Poppy shrieked, taking in the scene.

"Potter received an almost complete draught of living death in the face, from Mister Malfoy's cauldron. Draco, when seeing what had happened, promptly collapsed into hysterics. I can't say I blame him. Now that you are here, I will return to my lab and see if I cannot prepare an antidote. I will hopefully be seeing you shortly."

He swept from the room, black robes billowing, and took a short cut down to the dungeons. He hoped that it would not take him long to come up with a solution, for Draco's sake, of course.

Dumbledore turned to Madam Pomfrey. "I suggest you see what you can do for Harry while I comfort Draco."

"All right, Albus. See if you can ask him… why is his hair pink?!"

The old wizard looked at her gravely. "I will see what I can ascertain."

The medi witch blinked at his seriousness, before turning to the still form of Harry lying on the sofa.

Dumbledore knelt beside the sobbing Slytherin and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Draco, Draco, listen to me. Harry is strong, he will be fine. But you need to be strong for him, so that he will not worry when he wakes. Can you do that? Stop crying, be strong for him, and you will both be fine. Professor Snape is looking into it; has he ever failed you before? Has Madam Pomfrey? No, they never have, and they won't this time. So… be strong, stop crying, for Harry's sake."

Dumbledore's words had the desired effect. Draco stopped sobbing, and raised his eyes. He gave the headmaster a long, calculating look, then looked over at Harry. "All right, Headmaster. What can I do to help him?"

"Well," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "You are soul mates after all. Go and see if your voice will break the coma."

"Coma?!"

"Sleep, I mean sleep," Dumbledore said hastily. "Sorry, when you get old, the mind slips, you know."

Draco glared suspiciously, but turned back to the boy he loved with all his heart. "Harry… Oh, I'm not saying this in front of Pomfrey and Dumbledore, however noble their intentions. I'll talk to you telepathically, ok?"

"You can do that already?" Madame Pomfrey interrupted.

"Yes, we can. Now, kindly shut up so that I can talk to Harry."

"Of- of course."

"Merci," Draco said sarcastically.

_Harry… I love you, please come back to me. This was a stupid mistake, which should never have happened. Snape is working on it… I know that's not really a comfort to you, seeing as you never really seemed to get along, but he has never let me down before, as Dumbledore just reminded me. Come back to me. I miss you already. Open your big green eyes, even if they're narrowed in anger, it's better than- well- ok. Confession time. And don't expect me to repeat this when you're awake because you don't remember it._

_ I can feel you. I can feel when you're there, and right now, you're fading. Don't fade. You've seemed to stop now that I've started talking, but don't leave, come back, come back to stay with me. I think I'm starting to feel your emotions or something, and it scares me slightly, but it fills a hole that I didn't know was there. I used to, when this whole fiasco first started, just be able to sense you, like, I knew that you were in the room before I entered, that sort of thing. That started a few weeks before mating season. But, today, after- after you made me come, I found that I could feel you. I knew how you felt. I think, that as this continues, I will be able to anticipate you, and you me… we might even be able to read each other's thoughts! Not all of them, obviously, but the really strong ones. That would just be this telepathy developed slightly. Wouldn't that be cool?_

_ So… if you don't come back, we'll never get that chance to do all those things, we'll never get the chance to kiss again, and I won't ever get a chance to repay that favour in kind. I'll never get to see if I can make you come. And I want to, oh I want to! I want to love you every way I can, whether in the little everyday things, or actual sex. I want to have you fuck me, and then I want to fuck you in turn, I want to make you scream in ecstasy, and come screaming my name. I want to tease you, make your beautiful body arch under my touch. I want to do daring things, like kiss you in the middle of the Great Hall and scream at the whole school, telling them that I love you, and if they have a problem with that, I'll hex their arses to hell and back. And then I want you to do the same to me. I want you to erase the marks that my mother made, and replace them with your own… scars that I will treasure dearly. I don't need a tattoo if I have your teeth marks on my shoulder!_

_ This took rather a passionate and graphic turn, sorry. But I felt like I would burst if I didn't get that out. And you feel nearer now. Did you hear me?_

_ Yes._

__

__

When Harry had received that faceful of potion, everything had started to fade. He felt that he was floating in a world where time did not matter. He vaguely heard Draco's anguished 'No!', but that only worried him for a moment. It felt like an eternity, before the next thing intruded on the dark peacefulness, and for a minute he was resentful. He never got any peace! But it was Draco talking to him again…

Harry smiled to himself in the darkness. He wouldn't talk in front of Dumbledore and Pomfrey? Typical Slytherin. Then Draco's familiar mind-voice seeped into his consciousness. It formed a life line around him, and it felt comfortable and familiar.

After a Draco had spoken to him for a while, he grabbed onto the lifeline, and let it pull him back to the old world. In that world, there was pain, and discomfort and duty, yes. But there was also Draco. And Harry didn't want to loose Draco.

So when Draco asked if he was listening, he replied.

_Yes._

And let his eyes flicker open, even though they really didn't want to. He caught a glimpse of wide silver eyes, filling up with tears, before Draco's mouth was on his, desperately seeking a reaction.

So much sadness and tension in that kiss. Harry tried to sooth the frantic blond, moving his tongue in slow smooth movements, entwining it with Draco's. And after a while, they parted, breathing hard and looking deeply into each other's eyes. Dumbledore and Pomfrey slipped quietly away, to tell Snape that all was well.

"I thought I'd lost you."

Harry swallowed. "I almost was lost. Thank you. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have come back."

"You don't know that."

"I do… I expect Dumbledore and Pomfrey talked to me, yeah?"

"Pomfrey did."

"Well, I didn't hear her. I didn't hear anyone, but you. And your voice, your consciousness, it formed a life line. And still, I didn't have to use that lifeline. This life… it holds to much pain and suffering and destiny. It would have been nice to stay there, forever. But I couldn't leave you alone. I didn't even think of the fact that you would die if I didn't, so it wasn't out of a sense of honour, before you suggest that. I came back because you weren't in that world…. And I now know that I can't be happy if you're not there."

Draco's eyes darkened and became softer as the anguish left, to be replaced by love.

"Kiss me?"

"With pleasure."

A few kisses later, they were back to talking. Harry had too much to say, too many questions raised by Draco's speech. He needed the answers.

"Did you really mean it?"

"Which bit?"

"Ok… can you feel me?"

"Yes. It was all true. Can you feel me?"

Harry thought. "I can, actually. I never really realized it. I thought it was due to being your enemy for so many years. And after… what happened when Narcissa came… I guess I was too on edge to realize. But… yeah. I think I can. Ok… the, um, passionate stuff?"

Draco blushed. "Sorry about that," he coughed.

"Don't be."

"Huh?"

"I was going to ask… well… not now, I'm not that ready. But sometime in the future, could we do that?"

"You really want to?" Draco asked in amazement, staring at the Gryffindor with eyes as wide as saucers.

Harry smirked. "I really want to. Now… we'd better go find the teachers. They'll probably want to make absolutely sure I'm ok. After that… can we go to bed?"

Draco choked.

"I didn't mean it like that!!"

A.N – sorry this took so long, and sorry it's so short! I need to get my plot figured, (I've been working on whim so far, which is why the characters have changed with practically every chapter, and why there's hardly any consistency). I may also go back and re-write some chapters, to make them more consistent, I don't know. This story was never really meant to get this far – in fact, I'm amazed that it has. But seeing as it has, I might as well take it seriously. There's just the minor annoyance that I've just got the entire DVD collection of Yami no Matsuei (Hisoka = yum! And does anyone know any good sites for Hisoka/Tsuzuki??) so I have this urge to make them speak Japanese etc… even tho Draco actually speaks French occasionally. Not good. Yami no Matsuei is great, btw, I cried (which is a big compliment from me) and OMG-d all the time. Oh, and Ahh-d over Hisoka. That guy is just too cute! Ok, this is an AN, not a rant over Yami no Matsuei, so I will go email this to Tas, and get it out ASAP. Arigato!

Relle – ooh! Got me all inspired there! Yeah, I'm lazy, and I still haven't written the slashy bit. I think they're gonna take turns, seeing as I don't like it when one is sub all the time, and the other is dom. Variety is the spice of life! One of the reasons Magnetic Attraction started to pale for me towards then end. And now I have to have an explosion! Can't believe I didn't think of that…. I can see Snape's face… or I could combine the two… the potion and the pink… lol. Hm… brain working lmao. Lemmie see what I can come up with…'

Driven to insanity – that would be cool, lol. Thanks! I'm glad you're liking it!

Jerrica – yeah, I probably should have. Still, it's a bit late now. I might go along with Guns 'n' Roses later, I like them… lol. Thanks for the review!

Yana5 – Jen: don't worry she'll never succeed! Narcissa: Mwahahaa… Jen: shut up, this is my story not yours! Narcissa: that's what you think…

Malalani Astral – hehe! You will see… actually, I don't know myself, I'm being ambiguous on purpose… maybe Umbridge?? Hehe. No, Narcissa has more taste…

Dahlias – lol. Second time? Wow. People come back!! wide, astonished eyes

Insanechildfanfic – thanks!

Adventure diva – glad you like it! I feel all warm and happy inside! I'm kinda glad he's not freaking too…

Benjis VIP – well, the revelation won't be for a while, so you'll have that to look forward to! I'm glad you're still with me! I love seeing all the names again and again for different chapters!

Tasan15 – lol. I'll get writing as soon as I feel inspired! I think I'm gonna read over some slashy fics, and see if I can meld other people's ideas into a decent scene… hm….

Brenna8 – Glad you like it!

Jerrica – Um… I dunno… waves hand details, details! looks guilty As for the pensive idea… it would be nice, but slightly pointless. Sorry, I just don't think I'd be able to fit it in! And 'Reaper did the clothes bit, ask her!! autumnreaperhotmail.com. As for DS, well, I dunno why you can't get up to chapter 10, cos its all there, and 11 is now up. Like I've said, exams are in 4 weeks – 4 bloody weeks! Help! – and I'm kinda busy with revision and shit. As for the hate potion… we'll see, we'll see. I think I'm gonna use Relle's idea in this chapter… its such a good one! And 'Mione will come to her senses sometime… I think.

Adventure Diva – thanks! Glad I did ok this time… lol. More steam coming up, after the anxt!!

cRazy-GIrl-3000 – eww! That is dodgy. Both of them. Narcissa's mate is human, mostly. Lol. Draco in leather is just drool-worthy, in my opinion. Dumbledore did nothing of the sort! shudders My Easter was ok. How about yours? SS/HP is defiantly not my fave pairing… I don't know why, I think it's the age difference.

Shewolfe? – Lucius? He's back at the Manor, in the Library, brooding. Narcissa is flying solo, you see, and there's not much use for him during mating season. Narcissa's mate? We shall see… lol. Glad you're liking it!

Lady Phoenix Slytherin – Nice name! Um… I take that to mean that you've read up to 8 and are reading the rest later?? .

Siren of the Darknessflame – Cool, thanks. I will, as soon as I can get some free time from revising!

Kyra2 – I'd like to read that!! If you do it, anyhow. Narcissa getting her head chopped off (or whatever you plan to do with her) is always welcome. Kill them all! Lol. Yeah, they boys have some supporters, luckily. Still, this chapter's a bit of a shock… lol. Hope you like it!

Angelkitty77 – ah, but the question is: did you like the lemony bit?? looks insecure Glad you loved the rest of it!

Yana5 – I just got your e-mail. Here you go!


	13. Chapter 13

This chapter is dedicated to Relle, for giving me this idea… I couldn't quite kill her, but I hope you like what I **do** have done to her! Get Well Soon! [the bands of constraining blue light were inspired by Aliens Stole My Father. Or it could have been Aliens Ate My Homework, Aliens Stole My Sneakers, or Aliens Stole My Body. Lol. One of those]. Beta'd by Tas, luv ya wifey!

  A few hours later the sun was slanting through the large windows of the library, highlighting the dust motes that drifted through the still air. The golden beams also reflected off the glasses of Harry Potter, who was immersed in a large book, and glistened on the blond strands in Ginny Weasley's red hair.

  "Harry?"

  Harry jumped. "Oh! Hey, Ginny."

  "Can I talk to you?"

  There was a strange, hopeful look in the girl's brown eyes, and Harry smiled reassuringly. "Sure. Here?"

  "No, Madam Pince might yell at us. Follow me?"

  Harry left the book on the table and followed his best friend's little sister out of the large room. He had been looking for something to turn Draco's hair back to normal, but Ginny looked so upset. He was sure Draco wouldn't mind if he spoke to her for a bit. Ginny pulled him into a classroom and shut the door. Then she stood, looking at him.

  "Gin, what is it?"

  "Where have you been? I've been so worried…"

  "Didn't Ron tell you?"

  "No."

  "I've been with Draco."

  Ginny gasped. "That bastard? Why?" she growled, glaring.

  Harry shrugged. "I'm his mate – he's part veela. He can't cope without me."

  "And you've just accepted that?!" Ginny spat accusingly. "No, don't bother to make excuses. I don't want to hear them. I don't want you to say anything at all. You're mine, Harry Potter. It's time you admitted it to yourself."

  "Wha- Ginny? Yours? I don't-"

  She silenced him by pressing her lips to his. Harry pulled away, pushing her back gently. "No, Ginny. I'm with Draco now. I-"

  Ginny raised her wand and muttered '_constraigo!_' Harry suddenly found that he could not move. He strained his muscles to get away as, once again, Ginny moved closer and pressed her lips to his. He closed his eyes.

  "You will be mine, you are mine!" she whispered in his ear. "Admit it to yourself. No-one else means anything to you. No–one else but me."

  Harry couldn't even shake his head.

  "You cannot cry out, no one can hear you. You can only surrender to me."

  Harry's eyes widened. She was wrong. As Ginny started to undo the tie to his robes, he called out with all his mind;

  _Draco!!!!! Help Me!!!!_

  Ginny started to unbutton his shirt.

  _Draco!! QUICK!_

There was no sound in return.

  _DRACO!!!!_

  And then, finally, he heard a reply.

  _Harry? I'm coming!_

_  Please hurry! Draco!_

Harry was starting to panic – Ginny was undoing his jeans. His shirt was pooled on the floor around him, his robe flung carelessly on a chair. Then, at last, he heard footsteps thundering down the hallway.

  Draco had been happily reading a book, waiting for Harry to return to him. It had been hard, possibly the hardest thing that he had ever done, but Draco had insisted that he go. He needed to get his hair back to its normal colour as quickly as possible. A Malfoy with neon pink hair was a thing unheard of.

  Then – _Draco!!!!! Help Me!!!!_ – had echoed into his mind. Draco jumped off of the sofa and headed to the exit, completely forgetting his hair.

  _Draco!! QUICK!_

  Harry was starting to sound really panicky. Whatever was wrong, Draco was willing to bet it wasn't good. Maybe one of the Slytherins had attacked Harry? Maybe Voldemort had gotten into the castle, and Harry needed his help? A thousand scenario's passed through Draco's frantic brain, each one worse than the last.

  _DRACO!!!!_

_  Harry? I'm coming! _He called back.

  _Please hurry! Draco!_

  He could feel where Harry was, and this 6th sense led him straight to the room where he was being held. The door was magically locked. Something was really wrong. Draco growled, and felt his nails begin to elongate and his teeth sharpen. He slammed his shoulder into the door. It creaked, but it was sturdy and he still could not give in. Eyes narrowing, he flung a fireball at the door, and it shattered. Harry was standing, trapped by bands of blue light around his neck, wrists and ankles. He was in his boxers, his clothes lying scattered around him. A figure with long red hair spun around as he entered.

  "You!!"

  But Draco was beyond replying. He sprang at the red-head with a snarl, and slashed four deep cuts across her cheek. She screamed, and he felt the white feathered wings burst from his back, sweeping chairs and tables aside into splintered piles.

  "Argh!" he moaned, flexing the blood covered appendages.

  She was backing away from Harry, his Harry, now. He stood in front of his love, shielding him with his hard-won wings. "Keep away," he hissed.  She collapsed into a corner, blood dripping down her cheek and staining her robes. "Harry?? Are you alright, love?" He asked frantically, spinning around as soon as he was sure that the girl wasn't going anywhere.

  A wave of his hand, and Harry was released. The Gryffindor stood there blinking, tears running down his cheeks as he stared at the being that was Draco.

 Draco had been wearing blue baggy jeans, covered in silver chains and artistic rips, and a white shirt. The shirt was now splattered with blood from his wings, which protruded from two long rips over his shoulders. His fangs showed through his parted lips, and his eyes were like liquid mercury. His nails had also grown; they were now wickedly sharp, and stained with Ginny's blood. His hair had grown longer, and seemed to halo around him. He looked like an angel, an angel seeped in blood.

  "Draco… Ginny!"

  Draco raised an eyebrow. "Who? Are you ok?"

  "The girl you just attacked. How is she?"

  "Oh…" Draco turned and stepped towards the girl, but she whimpered and pressed herself further into the corner. "She's scared of me, and so she should be. She tried to hurt you."

  "She didn't understand!"

  "She tried to hurt you."

  "Draco!"

  "She tried to hurt you."

  "But-"

  "She tried to hurt you."

  "Ok. Take her to the infirmary."

  "She doesn't deserve to be healed. She tried to hurt you."

  Harry sighed in exasperation, and pulled his trousers on. "Go get Dumbledore. Ok?"

  "Ok."

  "Change back first."

  "I can't."

  "Huh?"

  Draco now looked slightly sheepish, which looked ridiculous on someone with his wingspan. "I'm not calm enough. I'll be back soon."

 True to his word, five minutes later Draco returned with Dumbledore.

  "Whatever happened here?" the old wizard asked, taking in the smashed furniture and the blood splattered everywhere.

  "Ginny. She tried to… rape me, I guess you'd call it. She'd magically bound me, and was undressing me. I called for Draco, he showed up and… well."

  "I see. All right. Infirmary, all three of you. Come on, Miss Weasley. Harry, probably best if you didn't touch her."

  Draco had his eyes closed, and was trying his hardest to calm down. He felt Harry touch his hand, and the sharp nails vanished. Then Harry stroked his cheek, and when he opened his eyes they were their normal blue-grey. Harry smiled at him, and his hair grew shorter.

  "That's better. Now you look like my Draco again."

  "Your Draco? And I still have fangs. Not to mention wings."

  "No you don't. Have fangs, that is."

  Harry was right; the fangs were gone.

  "I kinda like the wings anyhow. Make you look like an angel."

  Draco was about to make a sarcastic retort, when he saw the appreciative, longing look in Harry's eyes. Biting back the comment, he stepped forward and swept the wings around Harry, encasing them in a bower of white feathers. Then, safe from prying eyes, he kissed him.

  "Ahem."

  With a sigh, Draco stepped back and the wings melted away. "Its ironic how they're so much easier to get rid of," he commented to no one in particular.

  "C'mon, Dumbledore said Hospital wing," Harry reminded him, tugging on one arm.

  "Well, we'd better not keep him waiting then."

  "Draco… after we've- well, um, when we're back home, we've got to talk."

  "Home?"

  "In our rooms," Harry corrected himself, flushing.

  "No, home is good. Those rooms can be home, if you like."

  Harry smiled up at the Slytherin, and Draco's breath caught in his throat. Harry Potter was undoubtedly the most bewitching person he had ever met.

  "Did it work?"

  "Sort of."

  "What do you mean, sort of?"

  "Well, she went up to him, and lured him away."

  "What went wrong?"

  "Malfoy showed up, out of the blue, and bashed down the door."

  "Dammit!"

  "She was quite badly hurt, she's in the Hospital wing."

  "I don't care about some fucking Gryffindor! I care about our plan being messed up!"

  "Hey! I suppose you wouldn't care if she died!"

  "Shut up. I'm trying to think."

  "Bitch."

  "Thank you. Now, shut it." Pause. "I think I've got it. You have to pretend to be friends with him again."

  "What?!"

  "Listen. Befriend him again, get close to him. I'll owl _her_, and see if there's anything that we can do at close range to separate them. Got that?"

  "I don't want to have to go anywhere near them! Why do I always have to do everything?"

 "I spelled Weasley, didn't I? And Potter would never trust me, hell, Draco doesn't trust me. But Potter trusts… trusted you. And he will again. He'll convince Draco. It has to be you, you idiot!"

  A sigh. "Ok. I hate you. I'll meet with you tomorrow; I have first period free. Do you?"

  "Yes. Library?"

  "No, too many people. Quidditch stands."

  "I'll be there."

  Footsteps fading into distance.

  "Damn her."

  "Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, I'm sure that you understand that we cannot allow this sort of behaviour to happen again."

  "But-"

  "Listen to me! You are not to leave your rooms under any, and that means _any_ circumstance! The only time I would permit it would be if Voldemort apparated into your bedroom, or if the castle started to crumble around our ears! Both extremely unlikely, as I'm _sure_ you will agree. So; stay in your rooms. That is an order. I do not permit my students to become damaged if I can help it. I'm sure you understand. You will obey me in this matter."

  "But sir! Harry was only looking up something that would turn my hair back to its normal colour!" Draco protested.

  Dumbledore's eyes regained their twinkle as they took in the state that Draco was in. "I see. Well, I'm afraid that you will simply have to ask someone else to research for you. I would recommend Professor Snape. Now, GO BACK TO YOUR ROOM!"

  "Sir yes Sir!" Harry cried, jumping up and pulling Draco with him. "Sir, terribly sorry, Sir! Won't happen again, Sir!" he tugged the confused Slytherin out of the room and dashed towards the nearest staircase.

  "What the hell?" Draco asked as soon as they were inside.

  "Huh?"

  "What was with all the 'sir yes sir!' stuff?"

  "Oh… Dray, you need to change… It was from Starship Troopers."

  "Star-what whaters?!"

  "Starship Troopers. I see that that's another movie that we'll have to watch. Now, you need to get changed. You have blood all over your shirt. Pick something that'll go with your hair. I'll call Dobby and see what he wanted when he came in."

  "Ok. Kiss me?"

  Harry smiled, and leaned over the back of the sofa to plant a lingering kiss on Draco's soft lips. He ran his fingers through the stained blond hair and giggled. "Off you go. See you soon, dumbass."

  "Not if I see you first, dork!" Draco returned as he clambered up the stairs.

 Grinning, Harry went over to the bell pull and pulled. A moment later there was a crack! and Dobby appeared, sobbing and clutching Harry's trouser leg.

  "Dobby is so, so sorry, Harry Potter Sir!" the distraught elf wailed. "Dobby never, never meant to hurt the Great Harry Potter who has always been so kind to Dobby! Dobby must throw himself in the lake and sink!"

  "No, no, Dobby, it's ok, seriously. I'm fine. I just wondered why you came in then, that's all. I'm not angry at you, not at all."

  "Dobby," Dobby started, sniffing, "Dobby wanted to ask Mister Snape if the laboratory was all right, and to ask all if they wanted tea or coffee, and to say that Mistress McGonagall was teaching after lunch! Dobby never meant to upset any cauldrons!"

  "It's ok, Dobby. But both Draco and I didn't eat much lunch, so could you send us up some food, please? And the DVD 'Starship Troopers', if it's not too much bother."

  "Nothing is too much bother for the Great Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby squeaked. "Dobby will find you this DVD, if it is the last thing he does!"

  "Well, I hope it won't be, I've grown to like your hot chocolate," Harry said, grinning. "Off you go, now."

  "Thank you, Harry Potter Sir!" Dobby said one last time before he disappeared again.

  "Harry? What do you think?" Draco asked from behind him.

  Harry turned, and gasped. Draco was wearing low slung, tight leather trousers, black eyeliner, and nothing else. Harry was sure that there was nothing else, because the trousers – held together by buckles up the outside seam – were tight enough to show any underwear that he might have been wearing. He wasn't.

  "Harry? Opinion," Draco drawled.

  "I… uh… may need a cold shower if you turn around. Is that good enough?" Harry replied, not taking his eyes off the leather clad apparition walking towards him. "I may also have died and gone to heaven. How about that?"

  "Well, you did say earlier that I looked like an angel."

  Harry swallowed. "I know. I sent Dobby for food and the movie. Turns out he wanted to know if we would like coffee, to ask if the lab was ok, and to tell us that we have transfiguration this afternoon. Of course, what with the potion and everything, that will now be tomorrow morning."

  "One lesson a day, and no homework. I could get used to this."

  "Well, I'm not having another accident so that we can repeat this tomorrow!"

  The blond paled. "Of course not. Never, ever, do that to me again. Please?"  
  "If I have any say in the matter, I won't."

  "Good," Draco growled, bending over and kissing Harry possessively. Their tongues fought an erotic battle for dominance as Draco climbed over the back of the sofa and straddled Harry's hips. The Gryffindor moaned, and pushed up as Draco's growing erection pressed against his own. Then he remembered something, and broke the kiss.

  "Wait… we need to talk."

  "But-!"

  "No buts, we can, uh, finish this later. C'mon, luv, control yourself."

  "I'll try," Draco promised. "Can I at least sit on you while you ask questions?"

  Harry coughed. "Uh, yeah. Ok. What was with the whole demon look, and why didn't you tell me before?"

  "I didn't tell you because I didn't think it would happen; I didn't think anyone would try and seduce you. Sorry. I should have known that with you being so sexy - half the school probably fantasizes about you."

  Harry blushed crimson, and looked away.

  "Don't be shy, love, it happens to be true. Anyway, you were at the Quidditch cup, you saw the full veela, remember? Only I have a lot less veela, and some other blood thrown in anyway, so my… transformation… isn't exactly the same. Still get the eyes, claws, wings and the ability to throw fire, though."

  "What do you mean, 'some other blood thrown in'?" Harry questioned, lying back and turning so that Draco settled alongside him.

  "Oh, the Malfoys have quite a… varied gene pool. I have some vampire, from father's side, and the veela from mothers'. I'm not sure, but I think there's some merperson blood in me somewhere, a **very** diluted strain though. And I think there could be some others, knowing the Malfoys."

  "What caused the whole… transformation?"  
  "You being in danger. When the door wouldn't open, the claws and fangs appeared, and later on, the rest. I don't know the exact times, but if I'm only slightly worried, I only grow fangs, and my eyes get more silvery. That's the vampire, mostly, I think. The wings, well, I can call them out at will, but it hurts, so I usually don't unless I really need them. It's _much_ easier to get rid of them, they seem to just melt away. They're the only thing I can change at will, the rest I have to be angry for. Is that all?"

  Harry nodded. "I think so, for now, at least."

  "Good. Kiss me?"

  Harry grinned, and tangled his hands in Draco's soft hair. Pulling the blond-and-pink head down, he lazily licked a stripe across Draco's bottom lip, before opening his mouth and sucking it into his mouth, where he proceeded to nibble with his teeth and caress with his tongue until Draco was squirming against him.

  There was a crack! as Dobby appeared in the room.

  "Fuck," Draco muttered as Harry turned away.

  "Food!" the raven haired Gryffindor exclaimed, scrambling towards the table. "And he got the DVD too!"

  Draco followed his mate-to-be, muttering under his breath and shifting to try and relieve the pressure in his trousers.

  After they had reduced the ciabatta, ham, humus, chicken slices, vegetable sticks and dips to crumbs, they settled on the sofa to watch the movie. Draco had discovered that having an erection in leather pants was _not_ the most comfortable of things, and vowed not to ever do it again. Although the appreciative look in Harry's emerald eyes almost made it worth it!

  As Harry had supposed he would, Draco loved 'Starship Troopers', although all the muggle appliances – especially the guns - left him extremely confused.

  "Ok. So what was that game they were playing at the beginning?" he asked once it was over.

  "Uh… basketball, I think."

  "What's the point of it?"

  "Well, you have two teams, seven players, I think it is, on each one, and you're all on the ground. You have to try and put the ball – only one ball – into the other team's hoop, and stop them from putting it through your own. You can't run with the ball in your hands, you have to bounce it, and you can knock it out of the other person's hands. There are lots of other rules, but those're the main ones. Ok?"

  "Ok. And guns?"

  "Oh, they are way too difficult to explain properly. Um… they fire bullets, which are like lead missiles. And these bullets are shot with a lot of force – force created by an explosion of gunpowder – at someone or something. They're quite hot from the explosion, and they're going really fast, so they tear holes in anything in their way. That's about it."

  "Ok. And what was it he put in the giant cockroach?"

  "That was a grenade. You take out the pin, and about 30 seconds later, I think it is, the thing explodes."

  "Oh."

  Harry grinned. "Is that all?"

  "Not quite," Draco smirked. "What _exactly_ were they doing in that tent…?"

  Harry smirked back. "Allow me to give you a demonstration…"

  They had just got rid of Harry's shirt when there was a cry from the corridor.

  "Oi! Dray! Let me in!"

  Draco groaned. "Blaise."

  "Oh. We've got to let him in, it's rude otherwise."

  "But- but I want-"

  "Later, baby, we have all the time in the world."

  Draco pouted, but went over to the portrait hole and swung it open, ignoring the protests of sir Cadogan. "Bonjour, Blaise."

  "Bonjour. I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Blaise asked, taking in their shirtless state.

  "Nothing important," Harry said from the sofa. Draco snorted.

  "So, what's up?" the blond asked. He tried to put his hands in his pockets, before remembering that his outfit didn't have any.

  "Ah, I wondered if you'd mind guests for dinner?"

  "Guests? Plural?"

  "Oui, Weasley and myself."

  "Ron?!" Harry exclaimed. "I didn't know you two… spoke?"

  "We don't, normally, but I knew that he was your friend, so I… approached him. He was surprisingly ok. I asked if Granger would be coming, but he clammed up."

  Harry looked at the floor. Hermione's betrayal still hurt. Blaise looked apologetically at Draco and mouthed 'what did I say?'.

  "Elle nous amie pas."  [she doesn't like us]

  "Ah. Désolé."   [ah. Sorry.]

  Draco nodded at his best friend, and went over to sit next to Harry. _Are you ok?_ He asked telepathically.

  _Yeah. Was that French you telling Zabini what's up?_

_  Yes, it was. Hey, what do you say to Weasley coming over for dinner?_

_  Bring it on!_

_  Huh?_

_  I see that that's another movie that we shall have to watch. It contains lots of girls in cheerleading costumes._

_  What's cheerleading?_

_  Dancing around in very short skirts and tight tops. Guys as well as girls._

_  I'm in!_

"Uh, when you two have finished looking into each other's eyes…" Blaise said impatiently.

  "Hm?" Draco asked, looking up.

  "What about dinner?"

  "Oh, we think that's a cool idea."

  "Great," Blaise flopped into a chair with a sigh. "He should be here in about five minutes."

  "Huh?"

  "You already arranged it?" Draco asked, blinking at the other Slytherin.

  "Oui."

   Draco laughed. "You're impossible!"

  There was a knock on the portrait, and a yell. "Oi, Harry, tell this crazy bastard to let me in!"

  "Let him in!"

  "Are you sure, he could-" the knight protested.

  "LET HIM IN!"

  The portrait hole swung open and Ron ducked inside. "Harry, mate, you need a taller door. Zabini, hi again, Malfoy, greetings. Everything going ok?"

  "Yeah, we're cool. Have a seat. Shall I call Dobby and order dinner?" Harry asked.

  "I already did that, I went down to the kitchens. That's why I'm last. Didn't Zabini tell you?"

  Blaise looked slightly guilty. "Oops, I forgot. My bad. Dinner at six thirty. That ok with everyone?"

  "I think we'll manage," Draco drawled. "What shall we do until then?"

  "How about exploding snap?" Ron asked, pulling a pack of cards out of his back pocket.

  "Great idea!"

Relle – well, this Chapter is dedicated to you. holds mike close how do you feel about that? Lol. Hope you liked it, you gave me the idea! Thank you. I'm amazed you reviewed so quickly – I'd only updated the story about 30 mins before. Anyways, have a cookie! And get well soon!

Benjis VIP – sorry for the scare! But you enjoyed it, right? Hope you like this chapter too!

Driven to Insanity – huh? Draco has the pink hair, not Harry! And here's the next chapter… I hope by the time that I finish it that the wait will not be too long!

Kyra2 – He was there to tell them that Snape's time was up, and it was time for break, then McGonagall to teach them some Transfiguration. He was also checking that the lab that he had set up with some others was ok. And I don't want this story to be sunshine and fluffy bunnies. There has to be some conflict. Lol. Hope you like this chapter too!

Yana5 – well, Draco is a sweetie, deep down, underneath all the tattoos!

Brenna8 – I do try to make them enjoyable! Thank you.

Makalani Astral – Dobby wanted to tell them that it was nearly break, and to ask if they wanted refreshments. Also, he wanted to know if the lab was ok! I liked the way Draco brought him back too… it was a spur of the moment thing, but it worked!

Angelkitty77 – hehe! I was hoping for someone to drool, but that exceeds expectations! Thanks! Lemons are great, aren't they?

Jesse Drache – Glad you like it! I love punk!Draco too. I think we have more of the punk in this chapter…


	14. Oops!

Um… There's been a problem, I'm afraid. blushes

You see, I went to visit my Dad in Seattle. And I just got back, when I realized that I've done something extremely stupid. I managed to bring home my US power cable, and leave my UK one in Lake Forest Park. Dumb, I know. And, unfortunatly, all the stuff for all my stories happens to be on that damn laptop. So, until I get my power lead back, I'm afraid you're gonna have to wait for updates. Sorry! I really am so sorry!


	15. Chapter 14

… = parseltongue, _italics_ = H&D talking telepathically.

"SNAP!! I win!" Harry crowed, collecting the cards into an untidy pile. He sent a wave of love and happiness towards Draco on their link, and the blond smiled back at him. They had discovered that so long as Harry did that, they did not actually need to touch; mind-to-mind was almost as satisfying as physical touch. They had tried it first when Harry had gone to the library, and it seemed to work just as well over short distances as it did over longer ones.

"Ok, ok, deal again," Blaise demanded. "I am determined to beat you, Potter!"

Harry was about halfway through dealing when the food arrived. The game was immediately abandoned by half the players.

Ron's eyes lit up at the sight of the roast beef, and Blaise's started to shine as brightly as the diamond in his eyebrow when he took in the number of roast potatoes. Harry and Draco found themselves giving each other identical exasperated looks.

"I take it we are not having another game, then. Bon appetite, Blaise."

"Merci."

Ron looked at Harry, his face a picture of bewilderment. "Huh?"

"French. Tuck in."

"Ok."

Once everyone had loaded their plates and taken the edge off of their hunger, the conversation started. Well, the spoken conversation. Harry and Draco had already been immersed in a mental dialogue consisting of feelings as well as 'words'. This way, they hoped to get through the meal without embarrassing Ron.

"Draco, ma chér, not to pry, but is there any particular reason you're topless?"

"Ah, well, Harry seemed to take offense at the fact that my shirt was ripped and covered in blood," Draco explained, with a quick glance at Ron.

"Why was it?" the red-head asked.

"Oh, um, someone annoyed me and triggered a transformation, of sorts. The change that ruined my shirt involved shoulder blades and wings."

Ron sat up, interested. "Why did you change?"

Draco looked pleadingly at Harry, who took the hint. "Ron," he said softly, "Ginny tried to rape me."

"What?!" Ron and Blaise exclaimed in unison. Ron's ears turned red and he slammed a fist on the table. "Why? How? When??" he demanded.

"Um, about an hour and a half ago. In a classroom near the library. She… it was odd. She seemed odd… I dunno. She's in the hospital wing, in shock, I expect. She has some nasty cuts across her cheeks."

"Cuts?" Blaise enquired.

"Nails, remember," Draco said, studying his. "Uh, Weasley, I'm sorry. I honestly didn't mean to. In fact, I thought your sister was ok. I was glad when she was alive after the whole Chamber thing. I would never have hurt her voluntarily. Only, she was hurting Harry. It was instinct, more than anything."

Ron swallowed and closed his eyes. "Basterd."

Draco accepted the insult. He thought that he was getting off lightly. Harry opened his mouth to say something, closed it and took Draco's hand, rubbing the back soothingly with his thumb.

"I think I can forgive you," Ron continued. "Instinct… you can't really mess with that, can you? When will we know if she's ok?"

"We could go visit tomorrow, Ron," Harry suggested. Draco squeezed his hand under the table. "Uh, would you mind if Draco came?"

Ron opened one blue eye and peered at the nervous blond. "Ok," he said grudgingly. "If only to have you on hand to punch if she's permanently scarred. She is the only Weasley girl of this generation, you know. Just hope that Fred and George don't get wind of it."

"I hope they don't."

Harry finished his last potato and reached over to the roast potato dish to get another one. "Hoi, where did all the potatoes go?" he demanded. Blaise looked guilty.

"Sorry!"

This provided the distraction needed to break the tense atmosphere. Draco looked at Blaise gratefully, who winked at him and traced the flames tattooed around his wrist. The skull ring he always wore winked in the light of the candles. Or was it two rings? His vision was going blurry…

"Harry…" he muttered, bowing his head.

"What is it?" the Gryffindor asked, leaning down.

_I need you_

_Now?_

_Yes!! Please? It's all fading…_

A mental sigh. _Ok._

"Uh, Blaise, Ron…?"

Blaise got the hint, and forcibly got Ron's attention, by pulling his hair. Harry used Ron's squawk of protest as a distraction, and kissed Draco full on the lips, sliding his tongue slowly into the blonds eager mouth, where the Slytherin caressed it with his own.

_thankyougratitudeloveyousomuchstaywithyouforeverneverletmegoneverneverneverbetogetherforalleternitypleaseneverstopthisstaylikethisalways_ Draco sent Harry.

_protectloveneedwantI'llalwaysbehereforyousobeautifulmyangellovesoulmatesbondedeventuallyneverletyougoneverwanttoletyougoprotectyouforevereternitybyyoursidebelieve_ Harry 'replied'.

Their kiss was broken by a screech from across the table. "HARRY!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING??" Ron exclaimed, his eyes as round as saucers.

"I told you not to look," Blaise said in a bored tone. "It's not my fault that you Gryffindorks never listen."

"I'm kissing my boyfriend. Got a problem with that?" Harry demanded. It was harsh, he knew, but he had been enjoying that kiss, and the sooner Ron knew about the way things were going to be, the better.

Ron did his infamous impression of a goldfish. Blaise was looking at the two of them with a wistful expression. Draco read the lust in his eyes, and winked. Blaise nodded. "Ok, I'll take Weasley here away and try to explain. There's a nice window seat at the end of the corridor; the snow on the sill should be enough to cool him down. Have fun!"

As the spiky haired Slytherin dragged the shell-shocked red-head out of the room, the two left breathed a sigh of relief and went upstairs to collapse on the bed. Harry pillowed his head on Draco's bare chest and closed his eyes as the blond played with his hair.

"Harry?" Draco murmured after a pause.

"Mmm?"

"You said I was your boyfriend."

"Well, aren't you? We aren't married or anything, but we appear to be living together and kissing on a regular basis. That says 'boyfriend' to me."

"I see what you mean."

"Hmm."

"Harry?"

"Uh?"

"Why did we have potions yesterday? It was Sunday."

"Dumbledore said it was 'cos we missed a week of school. Weren't you listening?"

"No."

"Silly. And it's Christmas next week, so we'll be on holiday then. Hopefully, with so many people gone, we'll be able to go wherever we want…"

"I hope so."

"Me too. This room is lovely, but it's beginning to get boring." Harry toed the silver/orange/pink/gold/blue hangings, making the colours shift in the sunset light. (A/N: in case you didn't get that, the hangings are reflecting the colours of the sunset through the window).

"Harry, I want to say thank you."

"For what?"

"Um, yesterday."

"Ah." Harry smiled up at his boyfriend, who was almost blushing. "I take it you want me to move then?"

Draco grinned and rolled them over, so that he was straddling Harry's slim hips. "You know, there are advantages to having such a large bed," he commented, before bending down and licking a slow swipe up Harry's neck. He pinned the raven haired teen's hands above his head, and slid the other down to work on his trouser fastenings as he did so.

Harry merely moaned as the blond's fingers slid the zip down agonizingly slowly over his growing erection.

Lemon cut out for Go to for the slash!

The first thing on the agenda for the next day – after breakfast of course – was transfiguration. Professor McGonagall, with her hands full of two horny teenagers who were very much in love and didn't _need_ to whisper to talk to each other in class, was having a hard time of it.

"Merlin's Condoms, Draco! Will you watch where you're pointing your wand! You just got white gooey stuff all over my pants!" Harry exclaimed. McGonagall coughed, blushing faintly.

"Now boys, I don't think that that's called for in a lesson." Both Draco and Harry give her one of -those- looks.

"What are you on about, Professor?" Draco asked innocently.

"Yeah... Draco knocked over the yogurt, that you told us to transfigure our badgers into, all over me. He was a bit flamboyant with his wand I'm afraid..." Harry explained, waving the empty yogurt carton in the air.

McGonagall blushed even more "I knew that," she hastily amended. "Now, seeing as you seem to have, uh, mastered that lesson, I want you to transfigure the yogurt back into a badger. Um… I've never tried this with yogurt all over one person, but lets see how you do. At the very least it will save you having to clean the trousers."

Harry managed to successfully turn his pot of yogurt back into a young, bouncy, badger cub. Then Draco tried. Suddenly, Harry found that he had a lapful of snakes.

"Argh!" McGonagall screeched.

"It's ok!" Harry yelled. Hi, guys, would you mind awfully getting off of my lap? he hissed in parseltongue. Draco grinned.

"Now, Harry, I've heard of trouser snakes, but that's taking it a bit too far!"

Their teacher, meanwhile, had transformed into a cat and clawed her way up the curtains, where she perched on the rail, hissing.

What?

Why are we here?

I'm scared

Where is here? the snakes all hissed at once.

Don't worry, this is Hogwarts. I'm sure we'll be able to get you back to normal once the teacher is down from the curtain rail Harry hissed at them. He looked at Draco, exasperated. "Can't you get her down?"

Draco was staring at the Gryffindor with a glazed expression. "You… that… that sounds so sexy! Say something else?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I will later. Get the teacher down, we need to get these guys back to normal." Draco stared at him with his pest puppy-dog eyes, but his mate merely glared at him. With a sigh, he dragged his chair over to the window and began to try and coax McGonagall down. Harry, meanwhile, gathered the snakes onto the table and asked them politely to stay there. He was having an interesting conversation with one, when McGonagall tapped him on the shoulder.

"Um, shall I get rid of the things now?" she asked nervously.

"Ok, wait while I tell them…" We'll send you back now, ok?

Ok, nice talking to you! the longest snake – who seemed to be the spokes-snake hissed. Harry nodded to the teacher, who turned the pile of reptiles back into a badger cub. Her face was as white as a sheet, and Draco, who had called for Dobby, quietly ordered a mug of very chocolaty hot chocolate.

"I hate snakes," she explained, smiling apologetically at Harry. "My sister was bitten and we nearly lost her. I've never liked them since."

"Ah. Don't worry, they're gone now, and if you ever have trouble again, call me and I'll come sort it out for you. Most snakes are harmless so long as you leave them alone, you know," Harry told her, finding it a bit surreal to be giving advice to a teacher.

"The snake who bit her belonged to the Dark Lord."

"Nagini?" Draco asked. Harry nodded. "She's a beautiful animal, but so evil! My father used to tell me about her…" the blond sighed wistfully. "Back when we could still talk together." Harry slipped a supportive arm around his waist and held him close.

_Harry?_

_Yes?_

_D'you think we could go ask Dumbledore if he could help my father somehow? He never wanted to be a part of this…_

_We can ask tomorrow, or maybe later today. It's near lunch now, and I don't think McGonagall is gonna be up to teaching us anymore-_ "Thanks, Dobby!" The hose elf handed him a silver tray with a plate of sandwiches, three slices of chocolate cake, a mug of hot chocolate and two bottles of butterbeer.

"Dobby must hurry and help with lunch now!" he squeaked.

"Ok, off you go, Dobbs," Draco said, smiling at him. Dobby bowed and vanished. Harry handed McGonagall the mug, and set the tray down on the table.

"Drink it, it will make you feel better. Dobby makes the _best_ hot chocolate," he told her. She smiled faintly, and took a long sip.

"Hey, these sandwiches are tuna!" Draco exclaimed in delight, taking a big bite. Harry dived at the tray.

"Save some for me!"

As soon as the transfiguration teacher had left- so soon that Draco suspected the pair had been waiting in the corridor for her to leave – Blaise and Ron appeared. Harry greeted them while Draco dashed upstairs for their school robes. Flinging his over the torn jeans he had been wearing, he tossed the other down the stairs before going to the bathroom to brush his hair and check that his earring was straight.

"You're so vain," Harry said from behind him. Draco glared through the mirror at the grinning Gryffindor reflected.

"No, I just take some pride in my appearance, unlike some people I could mention. Don't tie your robe, I happen to like you in that green shirt."

Harry looked down at himself. "I'm not saying that I don't like expensive silk, it's just that I may be axe-murdered if I go walking around in Slytherin colours."

"You already do."

Harry stepped up behind the blond and slipped his arms around his waist. "What do you mean?"

"Those beautiful eyes of yours," Draco murmured, turning his head and pulling down Harry's so that he could kiss him.

A cough from the bathroom door interrupted them. "As nice as the sight of you two pretty boys snogging is – rest assured that I _will_ wank off to that later, and nothing you say is going to stop me, Dray – Ron is getting rather impatient," Blaise said silkily. Draco groaned and muttered something against Harry's lips. Blaise smirked. "What was that, chér?"

"Nothing," Harry told him, unwinding his arms from Draco's waist. "Lets go, then. Best get it over with. Dray, if you attack her I will stop speaking to you."

Draco immediately paled so much that Harry thought he would faint. Harry was aghast; he had never thought to cause that much pain with such a simple sentence. "No, no! Of course I won't, Draco, love, it's all right, I'm won't leave you!" he pulled the blond against him and kissed him gently, keeping up a mental torrent of comfort, sorrow and reassurance.

Once Draco had stopped shaking, he pulled back and held him gently, until he seemed calmer, then turned to Blaise. "Ok, lets go."

Ron was waiting impatiently, and practically dragged them out of the room and down the corridors to the Infirmary. Harry and Draco both shuddered when they were confronted with its stark white walls, high windows and paper sheet covers. Ginny, her red hair a stark contrast to the white around her, was sitting up in bed reading a book. She turned around when the door opened, and blinked. Before she could say a word, Ron dashed up to her and hugged her. "Gin! I'm so glad that you're ok!"

"I'm fine… honestly, Ron, I'm ok." Harry prodded Draco.

"Ow! Um, I'm sorry, Weasley. I didn't mean to, honest. It just kind of happened." Ginny paled at the sight of the Slytherin, but nodded.

"That's ok. It was my fault, Harry tried to tell me, but I couldn't stop. It was like I was under some kind of impervious or something."

"Really? I know a bit about that. Tell me what it was like," Draco asked, sitting on the chair by the bed. As they began to talk, Blaise tugged on Harry's arm and led him a little way away form the rest of the group.

"What is it?" Harry asked him. Blaise looked at him seriously.

"I just need to know something. Will you ever leave him? Are you just stringing him on? I don't think you are, but I have to be sure. He's my best friend and I love him. I don't ever want to see him get hurt."

"Don't worry. I think I'm falling in love with him myself. I won't hurt him, ever. Gryffindor's promise."

"Well, this is one time I'm actually glad of you're sense of honour," Blaise said, completely seriously. "But if you do ever do anything to hurt him intentionally, you will have to deal with me. This may be just a fling to you, I don't know. But for Draco it's a matter of life and death. Literally. And, we've been in life or death situations before, what with our parents. But this is the first one that neither of us have any control over. You are holding the reigns. And, I guess that means that I have to trust you. Gryffindors are supposed to be trustworthy. Please, live up to that. For Draco."

Harry nodded, and they shook hands. As they were walking back to the group, Harry just had to say "The sorting hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, you know."

Blaise stopped dead and gaped at him for a second. Then he grinned, and winked suggestively. "I knew that there was a reason that Dray picked you!" Harry grinned.

"Idiot."

"And proud of it!" Blaise said contentedly.

"Uh, Blaise?"

"Mm?"

"Uh, well, I know you like Draco and all that, uh, well, I was wondering, do you mind?"

"Mind?"

"About me and him. I know you keep on making jokes about us, but do we make you unhappy or anything? I… I don't want to make you jealous or lonely or anything."

Blaise shook his head. "No, you're just about the best thing that ever happened to Dray. I must admit that I'm kinda disappointed that it wasn't me, but life isn't a fairy tale, and it's better the way it happened. You can protect him. Dray and I have history, true, and you need to know about that sometime, but he's yours now, and you're his. That's all there is to it."

Harry smiled at him. "Thank you. I think… I needed to hear that."

"I know you did."

"Needed to hear what?" Draco asked, coming up behind Harry and slipping his arms around his waist.

"Doesn't matter. Just figuring something out," Harry reassured him.

Blaise held up a hand. "Actually, there is something he needs to know. We have to get together and discuss our history. Harry needs to know, and better sooner than later. La Belle Marquise will get her claws in him sooner or later, and he needs to know the whole story."

Draco paled, but nodded. "I have the pensive thing with me. We can show him tonight, if you want."

"Not tonight, some of us still have classes and homework. It can wait 'till the holidays," Blaise said, running a hand through his hair. He smiled at Harry. "I think you should go talk to Weasley."

"Good idea. Don't worry about us," Draco said. Harry nodded and walked over to the bed.

"Hey."

"Hey. Look, I'm really sorry. I would never… I mean, I do like you, but…"

"I know. There's something odd going on."

"Do you forgive me?" Ginny asked desperately.

"Course, you dimwit. C'mere," Harry said easily, opening his arms. He gave her a hug and ruffled her hair. Ron smiled at him.

"I'm going to talk to Malfoy. You two catch up." The bed creaked as he left it, and Harry wrinkled his nose.

"I hate this place," he remarked.

"Me too."

"When are you out? Are you ok? Draco couldn't help it, you know. Its one of those things about veela."

"I know. I don't mind, and I think I managed to get Ron calmed down. Hey, have you seen Hermione?"

"No. She… doesn't approve of Draco and I."

"Well, she came to visit earlier, on her own. It was odd… she crept in here like she was trying to keep her visit a secret from everyone but me. She looked kinda guilty too – I was still in bandages then. To keep the cream on. She didn't say much, but she had something on her mind."

Harry sighed. "Probably convincing herself that Draco meant to do that to you, and that he is an animal or something. She really doesn't like what we are doing. I'm kinda worried about her, to tell you the truth. You know how she was over the house elves, well, I think that this is the same kind of thing."

"I see. Well, I think it's a good thing. Malfoy loves you for you, not for your name. I'll try to talk to her." Harry blinked in surprise, momentarily struck speechless.

"Woah, Gin! I never knew you were so… wise, I guess. Perceptive." Ginny blushed and fiddled with her hair.

"Its nothing. No trouble, honestly. You'd better go, don't you have classes?"

"Well, Draco and I don't have them, but Ron and Blaise do. We'd better get going. Come visit when you get better, if you want."

"Thank you. Don't let them be late! Ron has a rotten sense of time!"

Laughing, they hugged again, then the four boys left the infirmary. Ron and Blaise headed off to Care of Magical Creatures, while Harry and Draco headed 'home'. Halfway there they were stopped by Professor Flitwick.

"Time for a Charms lesson, boys!" he squeaked. "Can't have you getting too far behind now, can we?"

"Uh, no Sir," Draco said, glancing at Harry, who smiled. "

Right then! Follow me.."

After the charms lesson, Draco went to bed with a book while Harry had a shower. The Gryffindor was just reaching for the shampoo to wash his hair, when a hand slipped over his shoulder and grabbed the bottle. With a happy sigh he leaned back onto a warm, wet chest and felt hands slide into his hair and begin to massage his scalp.

Lemon cut out for Go to for the slash!

Sated, they fell out of the shower and dried off, before dragging themselves downstairs. There was no food waiting for them, but there was a folded piece of paper lying on the table.

**Minerva has agreed. Draco may sit at the Gryffindor table. I hope to see you down at dinner tonight. AD.**

"I guess we'd better get down to dinner," Harry said.

"I hope your loyal friend's don't eat me."

"Don't worry, I'd eat them if they tried."

They headed down to the Great Hall, hand in hand. There was a startled silence when they entered, but they refused to make eye contact with anyone, and went to sit at the Gryffindor table. After a pause, Blaise stood up and moved over to sit next to Draco. Ron moved over to sit next to Blaise, and Ginny, who had just come in, sat down opposite. Hermione was sitting at the other end of the table, and the group didn't glance her way.

Whispers broke out all over the hall. Dumbledore stood up and all heads turned his way. "Please, Malfoy and Zabini are sitting at the table they are with my express permission, and the permission of Professor McGonagall. Do not let them distract you from your food." He clicked his fingers and the plates filled.

Ginny grinned. "Lasagna! My favourite!"

Blaise pulled a face. "No roast potatoes."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll survive," Ron said, patting him on the head. Harry laughed as Blaise's hands went automatically to his hair to straighten his flattened spikes.

Draco looked around the hall. The Slytherins were all ignoring him, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were talking amongst themselves. The Gryffindors were looking at how Ginny, Ron and Harry were reacting to the two Slytherins. Then Thomas and Finnegan grinned and began to pile food on their plates. Longbottom followed their example. The girls began to talk amongst themselves, many of them glancing sideways at first Hermione, then the two Slytherins. The younger children began to eat, occasionally glancing warily at Draco.

The blond looked at his plate to find that Harry had filled it with lasagna and salad, and was in the process of sliding some bread slices onto the edge. "Oh! Thanks."

"No problem. I'm guessing you're hungry, after that. I know I am."

"I don't want to know what 'that' is," Blaise said, grinning. "I recognize the look on Draco's face."

"What look?" Draco asked innocently.

"The 'I've just got some and you haven't' look."

Ginny giggled and Ron's ears reddened. "Hey! I don't need to know that!" he protested. "And my little sister is here! Besides, not while we're eating, please!"

Harry and Draco grinned at each other, Blaise smirked.

"My apologies, Weasley. I didn't mean to put you off of your food." Ginny giggled, then turned to her plate. Dean Thomas leaned over and tapped Draco on the shoulder.

"Uh, I never could as you this before 'cos of the whole rivalry thing, but do you think I could paint you sometime?" he asked. Draco looked interested.

"You paint?"

"Yeah, Dean's really good," Harry said with his mouth full.

"Harry, don't talk with your mouth full!" Draco said, rolling his eyes. "Uh, Thomas, sure. When?"

"Oh, I'm going home over Christmas, but I'm coming back early. Maybe then?"

"Sounds like a plan. We'll see you when you get back and we can arrange a time," Draco said.

Harry smiled. It looked like the Gryffindors were accepting Draco. Maybe their crazy relationship could work…

Malfoy is da best – Hm… I think she is going to accept eventually, but not just yet. After all, there has to be some anxt in these boy's lives! Anyone else noticed that I've made all the females evil? It wasn't intentional, I promise! It just happened. And I'm a girl, before anyone makes any sexist comments! Lol.

Jesse Drache – Ron doesn't know yet, no. He finds out in this chapter! I'm glad you like French!Blaise. I love the guy too, and you can make him/her however you want to be, because JKR never mentioned what he was like. Draco in leather and eyeliner… I can see that happening again… yum! I think Draco may be getting pissed off again soon…

Benjis VIP – thanks! I like it when pple like it! No, they don't know. I kinda like evil!Hermione; she gives my story something different. Mostly they both accept, but if you look at Hermione's actual character in the books – her whole fixation with SPEW, you can see that she really isn't that accepting. I'm emphasizing that characteristic. (I was yelling for him to hurry up too!)

Sdrawkcab21 – ok. Harry did say "I think"! I figured that he wouldn't really have payed much attention to sports, because of being bullied in first school, so he's allowed to make mistakes! And Draco wouldn't really ever need to know.

Yana5 – yes, it was Hermione and Pansy. Hermione did used to like them! But she's being… difficult.

Hmm… - which link? Can you be more specific? Seeing as there's about a hundred links, probably more on my site, and I have my GCSE's, and I don't have time to check them all! Thanks for the review.

Vampiric-viper child – thanks! I love Dobby too… and I have no inclination to stop just yet!

High?D – Thank you!

Angelkitty77 – I know…. Yum… Leather… drools I'll try to get you a lemon soon!

Redtears85 – thank you!

Gizachick – I couldn't maim her too badly, I had just finished reading a fic in which she was nice! Plus Ron would have been mad at Draco, and Harry needs all the friends he can get.

Relle – thanks for the ideas! As you can read, I used them. I'm now after more! Can't wait for your next review! I love getting them, they make my day!

Makalani Astral – I think that it will be ok when she wakes up in the hospital wing and screams "Did I really do that??!" Dumbledore will let her off with a detention or two… lol.

Kyra2 – I dunno about killing them… tho the idea of Pansy doing something terrible and getting sent to Azkaban is soooo tempting… lol, everyone seems to like the leather! I find that sunshine and bunnies get a bit redundant after a while. Variety is the spice of life.

D EDMUN – thanks!! Love people who leave nice reviews!

Giant squid – thanks, I think… nice name!

Kate – here you go! And thanks for the review.

Wounded By Pride – I decided a long time ago that they were going to take turns, 'cos I can't decide myself which is my favourite way! Some of the best stories I've read (looks over at The Golden Snitch) have them taking turns, so that's how it's gonna be! Tho they might not be actually having sex… Draco did say that he wouldn't have to that season, remember?

Trunks-01 – I love Time after Time too! Um… Thanks for the offer, but I usually contact Agent Elrond (when he's online) when I need something, or I go to Babel if I need something translated. I'll keep you in mind tho! Its always good to have a few back-ups! Thank you.

Layce74 – I like updating too… I wish I could do it more often!

Jack Sparrow's Only Love – thanks! I like him as a veela too. He's also good as a vampire…

Emily – ooh, thank you! preens I love ego gold, thank you very much!

Lady Arcano – damn! Thanks! It's fixed on darkside now, and I will get around to fixing it on … promise. It's glinting off his watch, not his glasses, ok? blushes

Short Fat Fag – no mpreg, that squicks me. shudders I don't know about bonding, I need to make up my mind about that. Ron is trying very hard to understand and behave himself. As for Hermione… yeah, she's a bit OOC, but it works with the story, so surf with me, ok? Thanks for the review!

Nyoka Li – thanks for the sympathy!

Kat Devi - ducks argh! Not the almighty cheddar! ahem sorry. I'll be writing again as soon as I can!

CrimsonTearsOfPain – they're great bands, aren't they? Anyhow, here's the next update! So there wasn't too much of a wait…

Sethian – Darkside has moved to , you should be able to find everything there. I'm glad you like the fic!****


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